The Shadow that Watches
by WingsofRequiem
Summary: Zed, a master of the forbidden art and the way of shadows, faces one who does not accept his art. He grows an interest in her and studies her, but soon, his inner feelings begin to conflict. Does he truly just have a predatory interest? Or does the Shadow Master actually feel something much deeper? Zed x Akali, Story is slightly AU and not lore friendly. Art is done by RuneScratch.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: The Shadow that Watches**

**Genre: Romance/Tragedy/Action**

**Main Characters: Zed and Akali.**

**Summary: Zed, a master of the forbidden art and the way of shadows, faces one who does not accept his art. He grows an interest in her and studies her, but soon, his inner feelings begin to conflict. Does he truly just have a predatory interest? Or does the Shadow Master actually feel something much deeper?**

**Pairings: Mainly Zed x Akali  
**

**Rated: M for Language, Blood, Gore, Violence, Graphic Depictions, Lemons, Sexual Situations, Death.**

**The Story Cover photo is titled "Zed.", Done and Owned by the very talented RuneScratch on deviantart. Hopefully, the artist will be reading this story. If you are reading this, RuneScratch, thanks a bunch for being the inspiration for this story as well as allowing me to use this picture. Half the credit goes to you for being the inspiration~!**

* * *

**Well my dear fans, here is my newest story. Everyone needs a little break from the same story, so I'll be writing this along with my other Story, Wings of the Raven, to keep my mind fresh.**

* * *

**The Shadow that Watches**

**Chapter 1: Watching her.**

With almost eerily silent effort, Zed spun his upper torso from left to right, swinging both of his arms around to slash at a 360 degree angle all around him, using one of his moves known as Shadow Slash. Gurgling sounds and the sound of blood spurting erupted all around him as every minion around him was slain. But that wasn't his target. Infront of him, his target lay, trying to crawl away from him at a slow speed. Ezreal coughed up blood, making a desperate crawl for his tower, which lay feet away. Zed just stood and watched.

"Don't attempt to escape…" He said in his dark, monotone voice as Ezreal suddenly froze. "You're already dead." Zed added, turning around as Ezreal cried out in pain, a splat noise being heard as he felt all of his vital blood vessels explode as Zed's Death Mark activated.

"Zed has slain an enemy." The Female announcer's voice rang out from above as Zed began walking back to his tower. And then, suddenly, a pair of kama's came flying out at him. Zed crouched instantly, dodging the Kamas as it disappeared, going back to it's owner, who came flying out of a bush. Zed raised his arms to block the flying kick, his assaulter kicking off to flip over in the air, landing with the grace of a feline. It was none other than Akali, the Fist of Shadow.

"Akali." Zed said in his emotionless voice as Akali got down into her traditional battle stance. "Zed." She said, equally emotionless. The two ninjas then rushed each other, their blades clashing blow for blow. Zed jumped back, suddenly turning into a shadow as he reappeared behind Akali. Akali expected it and turned around to see Zed thrusting his right hand at her, blade extended, while his left hand went over his shoulder. Akali blocked his strike, but that was what Zed wanted. He threw his shuriken with his left hand backwards, his shadow mimicking him as the shadow's Shuriken came flying at Akali. The female ninja, however, had quick reflexes and instantly moved to the side, the shuriken just grazing her side, drawing blood. Her foot slipped on the uneven ground where the road transitioned to the river and Zed took his chance. He charged forward, using his Shadow slash. It was a direct hit as Akali fell back, her kama's falling out of her hands as she clutched the cut Zed inflicted on her stomach. It wasn't deep, but it was bleeding fast as Akali's breathing turned short and ragged. Zed advanced on her in a sinister way, the female announcer above announcing the death of Akali's other team mates. She was the last one alive as Zed chuckled. "No one to save you, Akali…" Zed said in his deep, silky voice, flexing the fingers on his right hand as his blade extended.

"Last words?" He asked. Lightning fast, Akali suddenly kicked upwards, striking a direct blow onto Zed's chin. Zed grunted, the kick making him stumble backwards as well as lean backwards, his helmet flying off of his head. It landed with a splash on the river, as Zed's red scarf fell away from his head as well, revealing the long, messy black hair that fell. Zed opened his eyes, which were as red as they seemed to be to look down upon Akali. He had an handsome face with pale skin but it was scarred. There was a small vertical scar on the right side of his lip, and a horizontal one running across his face, under his eyes and over his nose. Akali was surprised by his appearance but Zed just narrowed his eyes at her. He came forward, pulling his hand back to deal the finishing blow on Akali, who braced herself, closing her eyes tightly. And then, _**Smack.**_

Akali's head was turned forcefully to the left as Zed's left hand delivered a strong punch to the side of her head. Her senses went haywire as disorientation took in. Above, the announcer said "Ace!" Zed had spared Akali of the pain of death and just incapacitated her. But why?

…

The match was over, Akali's team had surrendered. Zed was waiting outside of the institute, his helmet back on, red eyes gleaming through the dark shadow his helmet cast over his face. He was lurking in the shadow cast by the sun hitting the institute from it's angle as it was setting. The Champions who had been in the match and the ones who watched were all exiting the institute now, going back to their compounds. Akali exited alone, farther apart from the groups of friends who walked together. She paused, feeling someone's eyes on her. Turning her head, she saw Zed looking at her, his red eyes intense and uncomfortable. The sheer inhumanness of Zed caused a shiver to run down Akali's body, as she clenched her fist to get over it. Turning around again, she continued to walk away, leaving Zed standing alone, still watching her go.

The Shadow master stayed there for a few more seconds before moving on to head towards his own compound.

…

The compound where the Champions resided were in several segments, each segment for a faction. The faction some of the champions, such as Zed resided in, was in Neutral Territory. That was also where the Eye of Twilight trio resided, so the area was a tense one. Akali was lounging in the commons area on a sofa, chatting away with Kennen, who was sitting on the floor. Meanwhile, from the other side of the room, Zed was watching. Zed never came out of his room without his helmet or without something covering his face, such as right now, he wore his traditional armor minus the blades in his gauntlet. Akali, however, was in a normal outfit consisting of a white T-shirt and a pair of short jeans.

Zed was studying her, because after their battle, he had developed this strange interest in her. He wanted to see if he could persuade or force her into accepting the art of the Shadow. Or if she would be against it. He wanted to see if she was worthy enough to take on the art, or if she would be a mistake and Zed's time be wasted?

Akali's eyes glanced over and saw him staring at her and, suffice to say, she was a bit creeped out.

"Kennen, do you think Zed's holding a grudge against me because I kicked him?" She asked uneasily, her eyes seeing Zed without directly looking at him. Kennen glanced over to see Zed's gaze on her and said, "I don't know. That man is impossible to read. I mean, I know we're ninjas and all but he's… different." Kennen said.

"No kidding." Akali muttered, eyes glancing at Zed. Zed, meanwhile, studied her physical features. An Athletic but curvy body, with waist-length black-brown hair, creamy skin and dark red eyes, similar to his own but darker and more stable, whereas his ones were brighter and more striking. She was unscarred, as far as he could tell, unlike him, who had battle scars all over his body.

And then, a man with short brown hair and dark brown eyes, came up in front of Zed, blocking his view of Akali. "Shen." Zed said impassively, Shen staring back at Zed. "Is there a reason as to why you're staring at my friend?" Shen asked. Zed stared down at Shen in response, silent as the shadows he trained with. He was taller than Shen, and the standoff was soon the center of attention in the room. Everyone was looking at them. Shen was wearing regular clothing as well, as did most people in the room.

"I do not need to explain my actions to you, Shen."

"Oh, I think you do."

"Stop it you guys." Akali said, walking over to them as she put a hand on Shen's shoulder, looking from Shen to Zed. "Shen, chill. He's not doing anything except being a creepy stalker." She said, her eyes turning chilled as they glanced at Zed. Zed stared back without the smallest reaction, her words not even fazing him. The two ninjas walked away, leaving Zed yet again, alone. Zed's red eyes stayed on Akali as she left.

…

It was training day as random opponents were being pit against each other to spar. The announcer soon called Zed to the mat as the Shadow Master stood up, his armor sharp and as intimidating as ever. As Zed walked up to the mat, weaponless as this was a spar, the announcer called his opponent. It was a surprise to face Akali, who was to be his opponent. She was just as surprised, but gave no indication of it on her face. Akali got into a stance, although Zed only stood straight and still, his shoulders rising and falling just a bit from his steady breathing. The fight began but neither Ninja made any aggressive moves. Akali was cautiously circling Zed to the left, while Zed moved to his own left in slow measured steps.

"No shadow to save you now, Zed." Akali muttered. "Neither do you have teammates to blame." Zed countered, causing Akali's eyes to flare dangerously. She stepped forward suddenly, aiming a palm thrust at Zed's midsection, which he took without flinching. "Is that all you have?" he muttered as Akali quickly withdrew back into a safe posture.

"You're the one fighting with your armor, coward." She said as Zed narrowed his eyes. And then, he began taking his armor off, something that caught all the people viewing them by surprise. He threw his shoulder armor off first, the metallic pieces landing heavily on the floor outside of the sparring mat. Then he pulled his torso armor off, revealing the black top he was wearing underneath. That too, was thrown aside. Finally, he took his helmet off, revealing his long shaggy hair of black and his red eyes. The lower half of his face, right under his eyes, was covered by a black facemask which was an extension of his top, covering his neck as well.

Akali was a bit surprised to say the least but that didn't faze her. She stepped forward once she saw he was ready, with another palm thrust. Her blow connected with his mid-section again and this time, Zed trembled slightly from the force of the hit, but it didn't seem to affect him, much to Akali's surprise. She felt his rock-hard abs under her palm, which had absorbed the blow.

"Weak." Zed said, before he suddenly grabbed her extended arm and turned around, pulling it, causing Akali to stumble forward out of her stance. Zed kicked out with the leg that faced away from Akali, but instead of kneeing her in the stomach, he kicked low, his feet sweeping Akali's feet from under her as he let go of her arm. She fell with a small "Oomf!" as Zed stood over her, lacking any reaction other than contempt. Some of the other champions turned around, not wanting to watch Zed completely humiliate and decimate Akali. Akali felt heat rushing to her cheeks as well as anger at being taken down like an amateur. She turned around and kicked upwards, but Zed caught her foot with lightning fast reflexes.

Using his own grab, Akali pulled herself up, showing off her body-strength as she was only using her stomach muscles to pull herself up. Her fist came up to meet his face, but he simply leaned his head back away from her punch and let go of her foot. Akali fell down yet again, this time in a tangle of limbs as Zed watched her with an eyebrow raised, his hand still hovering where he had gripped her foot, the hand open. "Impulsive." He said, causing Akali to become even more heated. She jumped back to her feet, instantly moving into a combo of punches, chops and kicks. Zed blocked most of the strikes with his own hands and legs, even doing simply leans or sidesteps to dodge some of the attacks. Akali's right hand chop was pushed outwards, making a large opening. Zed took the opening to thrust his palm at Akali, but instead of using deadly force, it was more like a shove, causing Akali to stumble back and fall.

"Rash." Zed muttered, as Akali's face burned. Before she could stand up again, the announcer said, "We've seen enough. Winner, Zed."

Akali narrowed her eyes, gritting her teeth at the humiliation. Zed had treated her like a child. Like an amateur. She looked back up to see Zed staring down at her with those vivid red eyes, and to be honest to herself, she admitted that she felt fear. He was just so… Inhuman. His lack of emotions was unsettling and his eyes… They looked intense enough to burn a hole through her. Zed continued to gaze at her until she got back up, her head lowered slightly to hide her eyes with her hair as she brushed herself off. Turning her back on Zed, she walked out of the mat, leaving the room entirely. Zed simply continued to watch for a few more moments before turning around to gather his armor.

Zed was having his own thoughts. He had tested the woman right here and she turned out to be weak. The woman was more suited to assassinations, not for straight-edge combat, but even Zed was better at that. It seemed that Akali was not strong enough to be a part of the order of Shadow. But yet, Zed couldn't bring himself to deliver aggressive moves on her. In their little spar, Zed had simply countered and used Akali's own moves against her, but not once had he attacked her viciously as was his nature. Normally, people feared to spar against him as he would completely destroy them. Some of the warriors, such as Tryndamere or Garen, liked to go up against him as it proved to be an even challenge. But Most knew Zed to be a master of combat, both in terms of speed and strength. So it was a surprise to see Zed not hurting Akali. Well, not physically. Akali had been completely humiliated and her pride had been shattered, thrown onto the ground and stepped on.

And yet, Zed still wanted to study her. To keep on watching her… What was more surprising, he felt a weird emotion at defeating Akali like he did… He felt…

…Remorse?

* * *

**Guys, do remember to review. What is 20 seconds to write a review when compared to the 2 hours it took for me to write it? Thoughts on the chapter, suggestions or even just a "Oh I like this." Is appreciated. There's nothing that makes a writer happier than responses from his readers, whether it's good, bad or ugly. Until Next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Holy shit guys, I just posted 1 Chapter I get 15 reviews! The response was completely unexpected and overwhelming. Thanks alot guys, your support is appreciated. I'm glad to see how many people look forward to this story.**

Now, without further ado, I give you Teemo.

*Curtains open to show a Decapitated Teemo's head on a spike*

Alright, now that everyone's riled up with joy, I give you my newest chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

**The Shadow that Watches**

**Chapter 2: Hurting her**

It was another normal day as Zed meditated in his bed, his room devoid of any light, leaving him in pitch black darkness. All around him, unseen to any eye except his own, his shadows were meditating as well. Every few second or two, another Shadow would materialize. Finally, after the room was filled with shadows, they all disappeared. Zed took a deep inhale, holding the breath for a few seconds, before exhaling slowly. His eyes opened, red eyes glowing dimly in the darkness. His eyes actually did glow, as that was the effect of his ability to see in complete darkness. In front of him, only one shadow remained. This shadow was feminine, with long hair tied back in a ponytail. It was one of his favorite disciples from long ago, now a stranger who he wished to know once again. He narrowed his eyes, the shadow disappearing in a small burst of black smoke as he stood up. He put his outfit on, adjusting each piece of clothing until they fit snugly onto him. Pulling his shaggy hair up, he covered it with his scarf before putting his helmet on. One would wonder if he felt hot under there with so many layers as well as his long hair. Truth was, a master ninja such as he was trained in basic monk arts, which included the ability to regulate his body temperature. It was a useful thing to know, so he wouldn't be distracted by sweat pouring down his face where he could not reach with his hands.

He opened the door to his room, exiting it. It was morning outside, the sun having risen a few moments earlier. As he walked down the hallway into the common room, someone suddenly came at him. His combat-instincts taking over, he instantly raised his hand, his blades springing out to rest against the neck of the person who had his own sword against Zed's throat. It was none other than Shen.

"You know Violence isn't allowed in the institute, Shen." Zed said in a contemptuous voice. Shen's eyes, yellow under his mask, narrowed. "I don't like how you humiliated my friend, Zed." Shen said in a voice that held obviously suppressed anger.

"Oh? And what are you going to do about it?" Zed said, raising an unseen eyebrow.

"Sparring Arena. No Weapons. No armor. Now." Shen said as Zed laughed. A High and cold laughter.

"Alright, Shen, if you have a death wish, you will get it. I won't go as easy on you as I did with Akali." He said, a smug smile on his face which was hidden by his mask and helmet. Shen only narrowed his eyes further with determination…

…

The kitty cat alarm clock suddenly started meowing as a sleepy hand clumsily grabbed for it, missing it once. Twice. Three times until finally the hand managed to pet the plastic cat's head gently, causing the alarm to stop with a small purr. A groan escaped her mouth as she sat upright, stretching her arms above her head. Akali sleepily looked at the time on her clock. It was still early. She stood up, the subdued light of the morning sun through her curtains lighting her room sufficiently for her to see. She wore nothing but her underwear, which consisted of a white cotton bra and matching panties.

She took ten minutes to freshen up and put on something from her closet. She pulled on a white and red T-shirt with a pair of white pants to match. As she was tying her shoes, there came an urgent knock on her door. Curious about who would be up so early and be knocking at her door, she walked over and opened it. Outside, her friend Irelia was standing. She looked distressed.

"Irelia, what's wrong?" Akali asked, her eyes taking on a confused look as she tilted her head somewhat to the right unconsciously.

"Akali…" Irelia managed to say. She was breathless, as if she had run all the way here. "It's Shen… He... And Zed… Sparring room."

There was no need to say anything else, as Akali instantly begun running towards the sparring center as fast as she could, which was pretty damn fast.

…

Some of the champions had gathered to watch the spar. Almost half an hour had passed and neither combatant was backing down. Shen panted heavily, his brown hair ruffled, sweat pouring down his face and soaking into his white tank top. He had a bruise blooming on his right cheek and a split lip.

Zed was in similar shape, although he was breathing at a more controlled rate. His black hair was messed up, sweat on his face as well as he breathed through his facemask. He was flexing his left wrist, twisting and turning it to relieve the pain he had experienced when Shen had twisted it. Both combatants had hit each other hard lots of times, but most of their blows had been deflected and blocked.

Their small rest over, both of them stepped in again. Zed feinted with a right hook at Shen's face, as Shen fell for it by bringing his left arm up to block it. Zed pulled his right hand in, swinging his right arm to the left harmlessly before suddenly bringing it forward, elbow outward. He scored a direct hit into Shen's midsection, the latter grunting in pain as he stumbled back from the force of the hit. But Shen was quick to counter as he grabbed Zed's arm before Zed could pull it back.

Pulling it back and to his side, Shen pulled Zed towards him. Leaning his head backwards, Shen suddenly brought it forward, butting his head hard against Zed's head. Zed's head was forced downwards from the hit, his breath leaving him for a moment as he staggered back from the disorientation. Shen was used to taking heavy blows and simply shrugged it off, pushing to his advantage. He grabbed Zed, quickly closing in to take the black haired ninja's head into a head lock. He kneed Zed hard in the stomach once. Twice. Before he could do it a third time, Zed pulled back and then jumped forward, using the headlock position to shoulder-tackle Shen down. Freeing himself quickly as Shen hit the ground, Zed punched Shen right in the face hard. The punch caused all of Shen's senses to suddenly blur from the heavy blow, as Zed continued by bringing his elbow up and then slamming it down onto Shen's chest.

There was a crack as all the breath inside Shen suddenly escaped through his mouth, the sound laced with pain. Instead of drawing his arm back, Zed raised his elbow just a bit and then swung it upwards at Shen's chin. Shen's was forced to look upwards as the elbow connected, blood spurting out of his mouth. Shen lay on the floor, writhing as he tried to recover, while Zed stood up above him, breathing heavily out of his nose.

"You're lucky the institute does not allow me to kill you, Shen." Zed said, looking down at Shen with triumph and disdain. He stepped back, watching as Shen struggled onto his front, pushing off the ground with his hands. He was obviously in a lot of pain, but he still stood up, his left hand cradling his chest while blood dripped from his mouth. He still wanted a fight.

Zed laughed coldly at Shen's reluctance to give up. "Resistance is futile, Shen!" Zed said as he stepped forward, aiming another punch at Shen's face. Shen dodged by spinning to the side, following up by aiming a reverse spin kick at Zed's open side. The kick hit as Zed was knocked down in the direction of the kick, the shadow ninja rolling to a crouch as he clutched his side in pain, breathing hard. He growled as Shen snorted in defiance at Zed. Zed stood up, closing in on Shen, who aimed a feinted with a kick and aimed a punch at Zed's injured side. Zed anticipated the move and grabbed hold of Shen's outstretched arm.

…

Akali had reached the room, shoving the doors open as she came in just in time to see Zed grip Shen's arm and bring his knee up at Shen's elbow. The crack sounded like a gunshot in the room, sickeningly loud as Akali's mouth opened in shock, eyes wide. Shen fell to the ground, groaning through clenched teeth as he held his destroyed arm with his other arm, Zed standing over him with intense fury in his eyes. Zed glanced up from Shen to meet Akali's eyes as she looked in dismay.

"SHEN!" She screamed finally, running to the sparring mat. She quickly fell to her knees next to Shen, pulling him onto her lap as she assessed his injuries with panic in her eyes. "Oh god. Oh god, IRELIA. CALL THE MEDICS. Oh god, Shen, look at me. Stay with me, don't fade. You'll go in to shock. Don't. Stay with me." She said, speaking her words very fast and hurried as Irelia, who had just appeared in the doorway, nodded and went back out. Zed was still standing in front of the two, looking down upon them. Akali looked up with hatred in her eyes.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM!?" She shouted at Zed, who didn't respond in anyway. "He was a fool to challenge me." Zed simply said, tilting his head as Akali glared at him, eyes wide with alertness and loathing. "As you are a fool to care for him. Caring for the weak will get you killed."

"He. Is. Not. Weak." Akali hissed at Zed, her voice edged with venom. "He was strong enough to resist the temptation of using the forbidden powers. You had no strength. You HAVE no strength without it." Akali continued, as Zed's eyes narrowed. For a moment, Akali thought Zed was going to attack her as well. But he didn't. He only clenched his hand into a fist and unclenched it, glaring down at Akali.

"This is where I'll always find you, Akali. Down on your knees, caring for friends who are too weak to stand up for themselves." Zed said as Akali gently placed Shen back down, the medics having gotten there. She stood up and stepped closer to Zed.

There was a resounding crack of sound as Akali's hand slapped Zed hard, his face being forced to turn in the direction of the slap. As she held her right hand where it was after its slap, Zed's eyes narrowed, still looking in the same direction. He chewed his tongue, testing his jaw and the sting of his cheek, before looking down. Then he looked up, and as Akali saw his eyes, she knew she had made a mistake.

Before Zed could retaliate, Irelia came up to stand next to Akali, her blades flying beside her menacingly. "I think you should leave." She said as Zed's eyes narrowed further.

"Do not forget your origins, Akali." Zed said in a voice dripping with anger and venom as he turned around. He walked out of the room, a shadow being summoned to take his discarded armor and follow him.

Akali finally let go of her forced composure, falling to her knees as she trembled. No matter how much she hated Zed, she hated herself just as much for being afraid of him… He was something else, something that Akali wasn't used to. It was impossible to read him and his violent nature made him very dangerous. What made him even more frightening and awe-inspiring, as much as she hated to admit it, was his detachment to human emotions. He only seemed to be capable of negative emotions, and even that in small amounts. She had never seen him truly smile or laugh, nor had she ever seen him frown. Most of his emotions seemed to be expressed by his tone and his eyes. She sighed, a tremble running down her body as Irelia crouched down next to her, patting her back.

"I know how you feel." Irelia said, eyes on Shen who was currently being helped into drinking medical potions. "He's not human." She added, causing Akali to grimly narrow her eyes at the ground.

…

It was near evening by the time Akali had returned to her room, having spent most of the time waiting for Shen to regain consciousness. When he did, Shen had expressed his regret at not being strong enough to make Zed pay. Akali felt the heavy weight of guilt settle in her stomach.

Now, she was sitting on her bed, face buried into her hands as she tried to think things through. "Mother… What should I do? I'm so lost…" she muttered to no one in particular, thinking of all the advice her mother had given her. Finally, one surfaced…

"_Remember, Akali. As Ninjas, we excel in combat situations where we are alone against an enemy force. Alone we might be strong, but do remember, that outside of battle, everyone needs someone to lean onto. With nothing but the shadows as your company, you will soon turn bitter and lose your humanity. So always have people you can talk to and trust."_

"Are you telling me to go be nice to him, Mother!? He's a monster!" She said out loud to no one in particular. As if her mother had come in the form of a ghost, her own sub consciousness answered her in her mother's voice, _"He wasn't always a monster, Akali. The years of solitude and sorrow have turned him into this. Tell me, what does he seek?"_

"He seeks to destroy those who won't accept his forbidden ways." She said. _"That is nothing but the surface of the fact, my child. Go deeper."  
_"He wants to kill us, since we won't accept him and his methods." She said, but she could almost see her mother shaking her head. Then, Akali raised her head, her eyes suddenly widening slightly. "He seeks… acceptance."

The image of her mother inside her mind smiled before being replaced by an image of Zed's face, as she had seen on that day. His scars weren't that prominent, his narrow red eyes glowing in contrast to his pale skin and black hair. He seemed… Distanced. A thought came to her mind, of him standing outside the institute alone. Another thought, an image of him taking his food into his room instead of eating in the cafeteria. Alone, yet again. He was so antisocial. But was he truly like this?

"I'm so confused…" She whispered to herself. She hated this man, but she felt pity for him. She felt sad for his lonely existence. When she was a child, Zed had been just a teenager, recently having founded the order of the Shadow. Her mother had allowed Zed to teach Akali, and within the few years they spent together, the two had become good friends. Zed had given Akali her title, the Fist of Shadow. Sadly, her mother was killed by one of the shadow ninja, for unknown reasons. Though Zed had the man executed, Akali had turned her back on the Shadow Order and joined the Kinkou, the former being a painful reminder of her mother. Although the reason was not known, there was a rumor that her mother had refused to send Akali on a mission that would have Akali massacre a lot of innocent people. Because of that, her mother had paid with her life and Akali had abandoned Zed.

_Is this all my fault? _She thought, a pang of pain going through her chest at the thought that, maybe, she was the reason behind Zed's bitterness. The weight of guilt in her stomach became greater and she felt sick. He had hurt her when he had hurt Shen; hurt her when he had humiliated her… But had she hurt him back when they were young? Had she been the one he leant on, so leaving him caused him to fall?

…

Zed was sitting on his bed, his room yet again in darkness, his red eyes glowing as he waited for his injuries to heal. Most of them were bruises, and had healed somewhat. Finally, he felt the need for some entertainment, as meditating all day long was a sure way to get stir crazy.

Standing up, he put his armor. It was a tedious task, to put on his helmet and armor every time he went out of his room, but it was necessary. He didn't want people to see his face. A true shadow never left anything for people to recognize him with, whenever possible. He held his helmet up in his hands, but decided not to wear it. His facemask would suffice.

He exited his room and walked down the hallway into the common room. Like always, his entrance had made the conversation in the room fall, as many people stopped talking to glance at him. Fear was a powerful thing. He walked over to the bookshelf, picking a book out before going over to sit on an unoccupied sofa. He relaxed, opening and reading the book with one hand.

Just as he was reading, he saw the shadow of someone standing in front of him. Raising an eyebrow, he looked up from his book to see Akali standing. She looked impassive.

"Can I sit here?" She asked, catching Zed by surprise. "Depends. What do you want?" he asked, his crimson gaze piercing and intense upon Akali's dark red ones.

"I just wish to talk." She said, her voice neutral and low. Zed didn't speak for a few moments before giving an almost imperceptible nod. Akali nodded in return and sat down next to Zed. A few moments passed in awkward silence. Zed glanced at Akali. Akali seemed nervous and unsure of what to say. The memory of her slapping him came back to him.

"I…" Akali muttered, trailing off. Before she could think of what else to say, however, Zed suddenly grabbed her by her shoulders and pushed her down onto the sofa, his left hand holding her down while his right hand went up to her neck, his first two fingers extended to press down on the sensitive pressure point right above the apex of the collarbone. Akali's eyes widened as she felt his pressure on her neck, finding it difficult to breath.

"You think you can just get away with disrespecting me?" Zed said in a sinisterly cold voice. "You're just as alone as I am right now. Your friend isn't here to save you. Shen is moping in the infirmary while your little pet rat is busy in a match."

Zed's breath washed over Akali, though he was wearing a face mask. Akali was frozen, eyes wide with fear as she watched his menacing eyes stare down at her. "If you ever… Even dare, to raise your hand against me like that… I will snap it like a twig, just like I broke Shen's arm." Zed snarled, eyes narrowing as his anger slowly bubbled and cooled enough for him to realize the position they were in. Their bodies were inches apart, close enough to feel the warmth emanating from each other's skin. Akali's neck was soft under his fingers as he felt her pulse quicken with the fear she was experiencing.

But fear was not all that Akali was experiencing. This sudden loss of power against such a dominant person was foreign to her. Akali, who had always stood alone and succeeded in any challenge presented to her, was lying here completely at the mercy of a man she thought she knew. But what she knew about Zed was only the tip of the ice burg, and she found an unusual desire to learn more about him…

The awkward situation of confused feelings passed as Zed pushed off of her, walking back to his room with his book in hand, leaving Akali dazed on the sofa, still in the same position, staring up at the lights on the ceiling as she tried to decipher the jumble of thoughts that was her mind…

* * *

**As always, my dear readers, do Review. Everytime you review, a teemo gets slaughtered brutally and painfully! Or, if you happen to be a fan of teemo, Painlessly and fast. But yes, he still dies. And yes, it's still messy. Lol.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello my dear readers! Because of the overwhelming response from all of you, and because my mind is a bit burned out at the moment, I have decided to Update this story before working on the next chapter of WotR! Yay!**

**Anyway, this chapter is where things get pretty close and personal. Conflicting emotions, confused thoughts. The past of the enigma revealed, a lover abandoned and a heart forsaken. This chapter is full of stuff, friends, so buckle up and enjoy!**

**And yes, Sir ShamanSushi DragonPaprika. It is going to happen again. Not just again, it's going to happen! IN THREE. TWO. ONE...**

* * *

**The Shadow that Watches**

**Chapter 3: Getting closer to her.**

"TRIPLE KILL!" The announcer shouted as Zed stumbled back, bloodied and panting with exertion. In front of him lay the splattered remains of the yordle known as Teemo, who had exploded from Zed's Death Mark. A few paces away Lay Ashe, face blank and skin paler than chalk as she had bled out from the grievous stab wounds in her body. Even farther back, lay the decapitated body of a woman, blue demacian armor stained red from her wounds, a staff clutched in dead hands.

Zed was badly injured. He could feel the poison in his system, his left arm was frostbitten from 3 arrows of ice which were still embedded in his flesh. With a grunt of effort, he swiped his right arm down at the arrows, shattering them into ice fragments as he the clutched his arm in pain. He coughed, blood already gathering in his mouth, his facemask already soaked with the metallic tasting liquid. He began stumbling through the jungle, heading south towards his base. He was still in enemy territory when he heard the summoner signal, A fellow summoner alerting Zed's summoner and asking for aid. Zed growled, making his way over to see Katarina, who was on their team, battling ferociously against the enemy's Jarvan. Jarvan had used his ultimate ability, the ground having risen around them like a wall, and was attacking Katarina, who was going all out. Both of them were badly injured, but Jarvan was going to survive this.

Acting on instinct, Zed came close, summoning a Shadow into the area, surprising both combatants before Zed spun his armblades around him in a circle. Jarvan cried out in pain as the blades cut through his abdominal area, being disemboweled while Katarina took the chance and threw a knife, which stuck directly into Jarvan's throat. Jarvan made a sick gurgling noise as blood spurted out of his wounds, raising his hand at Katarina with his last ounces of strength. Suddenly, Katarina burst into flames, her screams drowned by the roar of the fire that came from the spell Ignite. Both fighters died there as Zed snorted with contempt. "Foolish move, using it on a woman who was going to die anyway and not on the man who was his killer." Zed said, as he began to make his way back towards his base again.

As he came upon the river, he was greeted by his other team-mate, who was none other than Akali. She was bloodied and beaten up as well, having taken on the Enemy's Darius all alone. Zed narrowed his eyes at her, and she remained impassive, her green clothes stained red with blood.

Before either could say anything, there was a sound.

_Noc noc._

Zed and Akali quickly looked in opposite ways, so they could rely on the other to watch their backs. "Who's there?" Akali said as Zed suddenly realized what this was about.

"DARKNESS!" Came a screech as everything suddenly became dark, all sensations of sound and touch and sight vanishing. Without thinking, Zed instantly flashed towards Akali, appearing in front of her as he shoved her back towards their forest. Not a second later, Nocturne came howling through the air, running both of his blades into Zed, who snarled in pain, blood erupting out of his mouth. He was slammed against the river wall, his helmet shattering upon impact, revealing his messy black hair, which was dyed scarlet in places, and his scarred face, which had blood streaming down from the top of his head, parting around the nose. His eyes met Akali's as he shouted, blood coming out of his mouth as he did, "RUN YOU FOOL!"

Akali, eyes wide at the sudden appearance of Nocturne, did what was sensible and ran for it. Otherwise, Zed's sacrifice would've been in Vain. But before Nocturne could go after her, Zed thrust his blade at the being, who was forced to block it, although it did so without much effort. "You can't kill me that easily, shadow." Zed said, his voice breathless and strained, as if speaking was extremely painful. Which it was, considering that Nocturne had run Zed through with his blades. The ninja had a short time to live, but he seemed determined to not die instantly.

"You should fear the dark, Zed." Nocturne whispered, grabbing Zed's head with his clawed hands as the shadow ninja finally lost the strength left to stand. Holding his head up so Zed had to look into Nocturne's face, Nocturne said, "Because one day, it will be your undoing."  
Zed only gave a defiant grin as he said, "Well aren't you smart. But you're nothing but a shapeless shadow without a purpose in this world." He then spat blood at Nocturne, who growled.  
Before Zed's vision faded, he saw Nocturne dropping him and going after Akali, who was, by now, long gone hopefully. A small smirk appeared on Zed as he registered the feeling of the river gently flowing around his half-submerged face, feeling it wash the blood within his body… Then, all was black.

…

The match was over, Zed's team had won. After the game, as the champions had been returned to the institute, each champion had to go to the small medical room to have a check up before they were allowed to exit. Zed was the last one out, and outside, he was slightly surprised to see Akali standing. She was still wearing her ninja gear, the green outfit a bit too revealing to be sufficient protection, but after all, she was a ninja, not a knight. Speed was her forte.

She looked up to see Zed exiting and then Zed knew that she was waiting for him. So as he walked up to her, he stopped, looking down at her with his crimson eyes. His helmet had been broken and was currently being repaired to its original state by the magicians, so he only had his facemask on right now. Akali had uncovered her face.

She looked down at the grass, eyes narrowing slightly in conflict as she decided on something. Then, she looked up.  
"I want to thank you… For saving me back then." She said, looking back down at the grass as she self-consciously rubbed her left arm, just above the elbow, with her right hand. She found it difficult to stare into his red eyes.

Zed looked down at her and sneered at her pathetic behavior. "I only covered you for your own weakness because my summoner forced me to. Otherwise, I'd leave you to die. It's your own pathetic lack of strength that you were in such a state after battling only one opponent." He said, as Akali suddenly looked up at him with anger and negativity.

"What the hell, Zed!? Would it kill you to not be an asshole? Here I am, trying to be nice, and you just keep acting like a complete ass." She said angrily, her arms by her side and moving in the way that expressed her demand for an answer. In a flash of movement, Zed had grabbed Akali's face by her chin, using his forefinger and thumb, forcing her to look at him as he leaned close to her face.

"Nice people are the ones who die." He said, his words spoken in a slow, measured way so each word carried so much.

"At least we don't die alone and hated." Akali whispered back in a similar way, each of her words expressing her distaste for Zed's attitude. Zed did not like her answer as his eyes flared. Akali stared defiantly back without a reaction, although she could feel the smallest stirs of fear within her. She easily suppressed it as the two stared each other down.

"There you go again with your love and family crap. There is no true family other than the family forged through battle." Zed said, hesitating about what he was going to say next. Akali's eyes widened slightly, brow burrowing a bit as Zed let her go, straightening up. She had never seen the shadow ninja hesitate about saying something. His words had always come out so straight-forwardly and confidently. But then, Zed turned his back to her, looking at her over his shoulder with red eyes that were colder than Frejlord.

"And love… Love is just a lie. I learned that the hard way. A foolish mistake made as a foolish youth." He said, his voice just as cold, before he turned his head around and walked off, leaving Akali in a state of mild shock. Did he just mean what she thought he meant…?

Was he talking about her?

…

_Akali was just a young girl when her mother hand begun training her. Her mother's training was rigid and brutal, but from an age where most girls would be playing with dolls and doodling on walls, Akali had trained to be someone her mother would be proud of. Then came the faithful day that her mother had a guest over. It was someone that her mother had been quite impressed with. So there was Akali, dressed up in an elaborate kimono with her long black hair elegantly styled by her mother so it curled up into a loop before going back down like it was unbound. When she entered the room where the guest was, she was quite surprised. The guest was none other than a young teenage boy, his black hair choppy and long, his face scarred. He was surrounded by at least 5 shadowy ninjas, each of them armored and armed with weapons. But what really scared Akali was his eyes. Red, slightly glowing, but so cold and distant. The very same eyes turned and regarded her without emotion._

_After that first meeting, Akali began training under this youth, who she had come to know as Zed. Zed was even more brutal than her mother, unforgiving in mistakes and completely detached from his emotions. But never did he hurt her nor did he ever punish her in any way that would hurt her._

_Years passed and soon, they trained together, fluidly moving as one as Akali had memorized Zed's movements. She had become a living shadow of his, mimicking his skilled movements perfectly._

_Another year later, Akali was now a young teen while Zed was coming of age. They had grown very close through the time they had spent together, and though it took a long time, Zed had begun to open up to Akali. For once, he actually smiled and laughed, his eyes lighting up whenever he saw her. And now, there they were, sitting on the back-porch of their home, staring out at the night sky over their courtyard, which had all of the traditional stuff like a pond filled with Koi fish, a cherry blossom tree and even one of those water-falling-into-a-bamboo things that she never knew what to call._

_Akali was wearing a very beautiful silken Kimono, which Zed had gifted her himself, while Zed was wearing a more simple but just as elegant red and black kimono. Though he was young, Akali's young heart gave an excited throb as she admired his muscular physique, his abs just visible through the gap of his kimono._

_Suddenly, a streak of light flashed across the sky as both of their eyes widened._

"_A shooting star." Akali said in mild surprise as Zed raised an eyebrow. "What's that?" He asked, as Akali rolled her eyes. Zed was knowledgeable in many things, but he never did know about trivial things like this._

"_A streak of light like that is called a shooting star. They are very rare and people who see it are supposed to get their wishes granted." Akali said, her dark red eyes staring up at where the shooting star had disappeared.  
Zed chuckled as he said, "I find it hard to believe that, Akali."_

_Akali smiled shyly, a blush creeping up onto her face as she then said, "Hey Zed?"_

"_Yes Akali?"_

"_Do you like anyone?"_

"_I like you."_

_Akali blushed a bit more before she shook her head slowly. "No, I mean. Do you like anyone?"_

_Zed was silent for a few moments, his face becoming unfathomable again as she thought about it. "I don't suppose so."_

"_Let's get married." Akali blurted out, quickly slapping her hands up to her mouth just as she said it, regretting it as she looked at Zed, completely red. Zed was looking at her, caught by surprise as it showed on his face._

"_I-I-I mean… I… I like you. You like me. My mother tells me that love is for people who have perfect synergy. We know each other better than anyone else… So, I thought… We should get married when we grow up." Akali said, staring down at the ground as Zed processed what she was saying. She thought Zed was going to reject her, or worse, kill her right there._

_But to her surprise, Zed began laughing. A true laugh as Akali looked at Zed in a dumbfounded way, her blush still very visible on her face. "Wh-What!?" She said indignantly as Zed finished laughing, grinning at her. "Yeah Akali, I think that's a good idea." He said, as Akali's face reddened even further. At that, Zed began laughing again, harder this time as Akali scowled, punching Zed in the shoulder for laughing at her feelings…_

…

Akali's eyes opened. She was lying on her bed, dressed in a white tank-top and a pair of white panties.

The whole day had passed in a blur and here she was, lying in the dead of night without any urge to sleep. She already knew the next parts of her dream. The next parts would consist of a ninja under Zed's order killing Akali's mother because her mother refused to send Akali to a potential bloodbath. The killing of her mother wasn't authorized by Zed, who had taken action by killing the ninja at fault. But Akali had been ruled by grief then and turned her back on Zed. Zed had actually pleaded her to stay, pleaded that he would do anything, but she hadn't listened. Now, all of this was coming back to haunt her like some freakish show of karma. She checked her clock, seeing that it was near 3 AM.

Sighing in defeat, she decided to give up trying to go back to sleep. Putting on a silken robe, tying the sash tight around her waist, she decided to go for a walk.

Ten minutes into her walk, she was walking near the room known as "Elysium." It was a very cool room that was basically a huge indoor park. It easily dwarfed most rooms and was just like the outdoors, with grass and uneven ground and trees, even a small flowing river. The ceiling was open, so it was more like a huge courtyard than a room. But people still referred to it as a room.

She heard noises from inside. Grunting noises. Impacts and sounds of effort. Curious, she went into the room, her bare feet feeling the transition from smooth wooden floors to soft grass. She walked for a few minutes, taking small steps due to her outfit as well as due to caution, slowly heading towards the source of the sound. It was coming from a small area reserved for training, circled by trees and bushes. Within that area, she was surprised to see Zed.

Zed was training against his shadows, who were attacking him. He was dressed In only a pair of pants, shirtless as sweat dripped down his muscular body, his black hair akin to the proud mane of a lion with some wolfish traits because of its length and irregular style. A shadow charged him, aiming a thrust at his face, but Zed leaned away from the thrust and caught the arm, pulling it over while kicking his foot at the shadow. The shadow burst into black smoke, but if it was solid, Akali was sure the arm bones would've been broken out of the shoulder blade, or the entire arm would've been torn from it's socket.

She watched in silent awe, feeling like a child again as she watched Zed take on his other shadows, who ganged on him. His muscles rippled as he moved, his sweat giving his skin a shiny texture, his mouth pressed into a thin line in concentration while his eyes were narrowed in concentration. Even through all that, his face managed to give off a look of indifference, as if this was no effort at all.

As if something was forcing her, Akali suddenly walked into the clearing. Zed froze, stopping in the middle of snapping the neck of one of his shadows. Akali stopped in front of Zed, who let the shadows disappear. She bowed to him, before entering a combat stance. Zed raised an eyebrow, before he too, lowered his head like he was nodding at her, but kept it lowered for a few moments before raising it.

Then, both of the ninjas attacked each other. Their movements were fluid, like water, and each anticipated the moves of the other. Before, back in the sparring area, Akali's thoughts had been focused on anger and at paying Zed back. Now, her mind was in complete peace. Each of her strikes were deflected by Zed's strikes, who was finding his own attacks blocked and diverted by the female ninja. Palms met palms. Arms crashed against arms. Elbows were palmed aside, kicks were blocked by both hands. Punches were ducked under, leg-sweeps were jumped over.

Both ninjas were moving in complete sync, like they could read each other's minds and knew what to expect and what to do. And then, suddenly, Zed had managed to block aside Akali's arms, leaving her open. He tackled her down onto the grassy ground, his hand swiftly coming up to her neck to show that she was defeated. But defeat wasn't on her mind.

She was breathless with excitement, exhilarated from the spar. Her heart was beating fast and hard and her eyes were staring up at Zed in slight awe. Zed found himself lost as well, mesmerized by the beautiful woman lying under him. Her robe had come loose and was open slightly, showing him the revealing clothing she wore underneath. Even her tank top had ridden up a bit, exposing her toned stomach. But her face was what held his attention. Her dark red eyes were reflecting his own, pools of different colors swirling around each other to make that color that her eye's possessed. Her black hair was lying spread around her head, silky and shiny to look at, reflecting the moon over head. Her lips were just parted, small breaths coming out of it slowly and Zed had the insane urge to lean closer.

High above them, a small streak of light flashed across the sky. Clouds were coming in after the shooting star, slowly covering the moon. As the moon's light faded, the last rays of silver illuminated the two figures lying on the grassy ground, their lips joined together, eyes closed. Zed's right hand made its way to Akali's hand, and soon, their fingers intertwined with each other in blissful harmony.

And, just as suddenly it had begun, Zed had walked out of the clearing, not even looking back, his eyes covered by his hair, leaving Akali, yet again, lying on her back, staring up in mild shock and wanting more. The man was so difficult… He was like a shadow. One moment, he was there. The next, he wasn't… But Akali knew that this memory would stay with both of them for a long time.

* * *

**Well, there's the chapter. I hope all of you enjoyed it. As always, please take a few moments to leave your thoughts on the chapter in your reviews. Did you like it or not, any suggestions you might have, what you think is going to happen, etc. Remember, I always love to read your thoughts on my story! :3 Till next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

******Hello there once again audience, and I welcome you to another episode of CUTE, WI- Oh wait, wrong show.**

***cough cough* er, yeah, Hey, Welcome to another chapter of The Shadow that Watches. **

**So, I'm currently looking for an Alpha/Beta Reader for this story. Someone has already applied and as much as I'm hoping he/she will be my alpha, I haven't got a reply back yet so I'm posting this chapter without his/her read-through. Now, if you want to be this story's alpha/beta, you need to be able to read through it quickly and provide valid corrections within a suitable time. I get impatient, you see. So you need to give your alpha/beta review soon after I send you the chapter.**

**Now, for anyone wondering, a Beta reader just corrects the mistakes. An Alpha reader, however, gets to correct the mistakes AND also consult with the author. If there is a specific part of the story that, in the eyes of the alpha, does not come up to scratch or doesn't add up or simply isn't a good addition to the story, with a valid arguement, he or she can affect the entire plot of the chapter, maybe even the story. **

**Simply put, a story is a very zig-zaggy line. Beta Readers turn the sharp corners round, improving it. Alpha Readers do that, as well as cut the zig-zags down to make it more smooth and overall better.**

**Also, If you haven't guessed yet, this story will get a bit kinky although not overly kinky. Once the lemons start coming, it's going to be love/hate, S&M and even some kinky fuckery.**

* * *

**The Shadow that Watches**

**Chapter 4: Breaking her**

Zed was brooding in his room. It was a new day, but he was still in the same clothes as last night. He had not slept at all and it showed on his face, with his slightly more paler skin and the darkness under his eyes. He was sitting on his bed, just staring at the ground with his dimly glowing red eyes. Then he stood up, walking over to his door, rage breaking out on his face.

"THAT SHOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED!" He roared, punching the wall hard enough to crack it, paint chipping off in a burst of paint-dust and debris, creating a good crater in the concrete wall. Outside of his room, a summoner dropped the numerous scrolls he was carrying from the sudden boom of Zed's fist hitting the wall. The summoner gathered his scrolls up and almost ran away in a panic, as inside of the room, Zed took heavy breaths. He slowly pulled his fist out of the crater, more pieces and fragments of shattered concrete crumbling as he vaguely noted how he had badly injured his knuckles, blood already beginning to drip, powdery concrete sticking to his hand.

He regretted being there last night, regretted letting her come close to him, regretted letting her join him. But worst of all, he regretted the fact that he allowed himself to be caught off guard, emotions and affection that was long forgotten being allowed to wash over him like a wave. But like a wave, it had passed. Not again… He would not allow himself to be drawn to her again. He needed that one kiss to allow him to cut all of his ties from his past, no more things left undone… It was over…

"Never again." He growled to himself.

…

Akali was sitting in the waiting area in the infirmary, thinking about what had happened last night. She was wearing a white button-up half sleeve and a knee-length skirt, black in color to contrast with her shirt. Her hair was pulled up in a simple ponytail, long enough to fall past her waist. Her mind was now like a water bowl with a multitude of paint brushes dipped into it, each with a different color. The colors were all so mixed up, it was impossible to tell what colors were added and where they came from. That was the state of her mind. One second, she hated Zed. She hated his arrogance, his violent nature. She hated how inhuman he was, how detached he was from his emotions, his contempt towards those weaker than him. But then, he didn't hate her, did he? She was weaker than him, obviously, but he only treated her with indifference…

The next second, she pitied Zed. He was such a bitter person, never having anyone to trust except himself and his shadows. Maybe he didn't even trust his shadows. And then, she felt another emotion for him… An emotion she couldn't quite explain.

The weirdest part was how she felt about herself with Zed. Akali was a strong woman, proud and independent but not arrogant or lonely. She liked being able to carry herself and was proud to be able to help others with her abilities. But Zed… Zed's presence made her feel true fear, something that not even Nocturne could instill in her. And last night, the way he had tackled her down and asserted his dominance over her…

Akali groaned, burying her face within her hands. Great, now she was becoming some sort of kinky masochist. Yeah, she totally loved it when a killer decided to have his way with her.

That thought brought a whole wave of kinky images to her mind, all of it involving her and Zed, each weirder and kinkier than the last. Akali yelped, slapping herself on both cheeks with her hands, although her face was already as red as can be. Dear god, now she was fantasizing about him like some love-struck teenager.

….Did she love him…?

Before she could think about that, the door opened. Raising her face, her lips curled into a smile as she stood up, Shen walking in through the door. Shen gave a small smile as Akali chuckled in relief, walking over to him to give him a friendly hug. Shen returned the gesture before both of them stepped back.

"Great to see you back up and healed, Shen." Akali said, her dark red eyes beaming at Shen, who awkwardly smiled back. Shen wasn't used to displaying emotions. Covering his face with a mask felt much more natural than smiling at his friend. But for her, it was something he'd go through.

"It'll take much more than a broken arm to put me down, Akali." Shen said as Akali rolled her eyes.

"Oh yes, the Eye of the Twilight stands for balance." Akali said, suddenly taking a solemn ninja stance, hands together in the tiger hand sign, imitating Shen as she spoke in her deepest voice, "True balance cannot be attained without both hands."

Shen just sighed, closing his eyes as he shook his head at Akali's amusement, Akali smirking in response. "You shouldn't display yourself so openly, Akali. It exposes you." Shen said as they began walking down the hallways of the hospital wing, heading back towards the Neutral Quarters.

"I take good care not to reveal my true intentions too much, thank you very much. Besides, acting like a ninja twenty-four seven is very boring. Boring is what you do." Akali said, the smirk still on her face.

Shen was about to reply in his all-work-and-no-play tone, before a summoner walked up to them. "Shen, glad to see you're back. You're being summoned in a practice match to see if you're completely fine and battle-ready." The summoner said as Shen met Akali's eyes. He shrugged, before following the summoner, waving goodbye to Akali. Akali waved back, giving a small sigh before she continued walking.

As she was passing a room, still in the hospital wing, she suddenly heard a clatter of metal, like a tray of instruments had been knocked down. More like thrown into the wall, with the sound it caused. Akali quickly opened the door to see a terrified healer backed up against the wall. On the other side of the room, Zed was breathing heavily, eyes narrowed in anger and lips tight. Akali's eyes widened slightly at the sight of his right hand. Did he smash his hand under a rock or something? The mangled flesh was still bleeding.

"What. The fuck." Akali said as the healer cowered. "I-I-I'm only t-trying to help, Miss Akali… B-but… He…" The healer stuttered out as Akali glared at Zed, who stared back.

"He doesn't trust you. Leave. I'll handle this." Akali said as the healer nodded, scrambling out of the room, shutting the door behind Akali. Akali was a part-time nurse, knowing the basics of healing and fixing injuries in the institutes. Sure, she couldn't use healing magic, but some of the ninja arts helped. Most of the healing came from the potions the institute's healers used as well, magical healing only being used in the most serious of cases.

Akali walked over with purpose, grabbing Zed's right wrist with her left hand and pulling it towards her, noting how rigid his muscles were. But they allowed her to move it as she inspected his wound.

"You think I trust you?" Zed asked as Akali grabbed a small bottle of distilled water. She guided Zed's injured hand so it was over the sink as she poured the water down onto his wound, cleaning the powdery dust that still clung to it.

"I know for a fact you don't trust anyone." Akali said nonchalantly, her voice giving nothing away nor her face, which was engrossed in her work. She then grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol, giving no warning before pouring it onto his injured hand. Zed's muscles flexed as he felt the sudden sting of the disinfectant, but said or did nothing other than slowly lessen the pressure of his jaws, noting that he had been clenching his teeth when the alcohol's sting had hit.

"You're making yourself vulnerable, trusting someone you don't know like this." Zed said, his voice not carrying even the smallest trace of emotion as he watched Akali douse his hand with a sweet-smelling potion that was red in color. Almost instantly, he could feel the cells healing themselves as his flesh slowly repaired itself. Akali then began wrapping his hand up with bandages.

"Gee, that's a great way to say thank you." Akali said, her voice carrying the smallest traces of sarcasm, which only made it more sarcastic, as she finished dressing his hand. She released his hand as Zed brought his hand back, flexing his fingers. He looked at his hand for a few moments, flexing it and testing it out before he slowly began lowering it… And then, in a flash, he slammed Akali into a wall, having grabbed a scalpel from the table, which he now held against her neck. Akali only stared defiantly back at Zed, whose face was inches away from hers, scarlet eyes boring into her maroon ones. She wasn't surprised by this.

"Do not forget, Akali." He said, speaking her name with contempt, pausing for a moment for emphasis before continuing, "I am a predator. My eyes are that of a predator. My instincts are that of a predator. If I see vulnerability, my instincts will force me to punish you for it. I see you as my prey because of your 'trust'." He said, slowly dragging the blade of the scalpel across the skin of her neck, light enough to not cut or hurt her, but just enough pressure to make her feel the sharp edge. Akali stopped breathing, fighting the insane urge to swallow as the blade passed all the way across her throat, leaving nothing but just the faintest white line. As soon as the blade passed, Akali gulped, breathing again as she narrowed her eyes, her composure being chipped away like wood facing a machine-gun. So much for being emotionless. She hated to admit it, but he scared her. But like he just said, she couldn't risk showing her fear to him.

"The next time you decide to come to me with friendship and trust, remember this…" Zed said, digging the tip of the blade into the side of her neck. Akali let out a breath through clenched teeth as she felt the scalpel's sharp edge cut her skin just barely, enough to draw a small drop of blood.

"Predators don't play with their prey." Zed said, letting go of Akali as he threw the scalpel aside, walking out of the room. At the door, he turned his head to the side to look at Akali, who was standing straight and was defiantly staring at him from the wall, eyes burning with unwillingness to back down. She didn't even care about the small trickle of blood on the side of her neck.

"Stay away from me." Zed said before he left. Akali stayed like she was for a few seconds before she finally allowed her legs to turn into jelly. She leaned against the wall she had been pushed against moments ago, allowing it to support her as she slowly slid down into a sitting position, back against the wall. Her mother would be ashamed of her, being reduced to a quivering mass at the mere threats and proximity of the man. Her teacher would be ashamed as well.

As Akali absently pressed the back of her right hand against the small cut, wiping away the blood, a thought suddenly became painfully bright inside of her mind. _He was your teacher…_

…

The sun was setting on another day as champions walked around here and there, chatting about the latest matches. Shen was walking down the hall, Kennen jumping along beside him, easily jumping high enough to cross Shen's height before landing, which was a hugh jump considering Kennen's height.

"Boing. Boing. Boing. Boing." Kennen was saying with each jump, as Shen simply ignored the hyperactive tendency of his companion. Making his way to the cafeteria, he grabbed a tray, picking out some choice food items before making his way to his table. Akali was already there, chatting happily with her friend Irelia, who laughed about something Akali had said.

"Hello Irelia. Akali." Shen said, joining them as he sat down next to Akali. Kennen, who had the tray balanced on his head, placed it on the table before he jumped up and sat down on the seat next to Irelia, with a small "Yo!"

"Hey there Shen, Kennen. It's nice to see you well, Shen." Irelia said, absently pushing a strand of her dark hair behind her ear as Shen nodded in response.

"Yeah, it'll take more than a little broken bone to stop Shen, here! This guy takes heavy hits for a living!" Kennen said, before he shoved an entire cupcake into his small mouth, struggling to eat it but clearly enjoying himself. Akali held an amused smile, as her eyes looked past Irelia. Almost as if she knew who'd she see, she saw Zed. He had just entered the cafeteria, causing the volume of conversation to lower a bit as people glanced at his direction. Zed simply took a tray and his chosen meal, a bowl of rice with some Beef in Oyster Sauce and Lemon chicken curry, before walking out of the cafeteria, heading to his room. Almost as if he could feel her stare, he paused on his way out, glancing at her, red eyes glowing through the darkness cast by his helmet, before continuing. The conversation's volume resumed as Akali grimly stared at where Zed had disappeared, not registering the snapping fingers infront of her until a few moments later with a small jump.

"Earth to Akali." Irelia said, withdrawing her hand. Akali looked around to see all three of her companions staring at her. "What?" She asked.

"You've been staring off into space for quite a while there." Shen said. "Yeah, that's Shen's job, being the Eye of Twilight." Kennen said, snickering as Shen rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, what were we talking about?" Akali asked as Irelia shook her head at her friend's lack of attention. "We were talking about tonight. It's the blood moon festival tonight, and there's going to be a party and a dance and everything."

"Oh, right!" Akali said, eyes slightly widening as she remembered. How could she forget such an important day?

"Yeah, so, who's going to be your date?" Irelia asked with a small smirk as Akali was taken aback. Shen was oddly silent, which wasn't really odd to be honest, as even Kennen paused in the process of shoving a bunch of cakes and pastries into his mouth to listen.

"Umm… I'm going alone." Akali said awkwardly, a light blush on her cheeks.  
"C'mon Akali, everyone's going with someone. You can't be the only one going alone!" Irelia persisted, leaning forward.

"Oh yeah? Who're you going with?" Akali asked suspiciously, eyes narrowing a bit. Irelia was caught off guard as she said, "Um… Shen! Yeah, I'm going with Shen."

"What." Shen said, looking at Irelia. "Why was I n-" Shen was cut short as Irelia kicked him under the table, which was pretty obvious to everyone.

"Shenny dear, you promised me you'd take me to the festival yesterday, didn't you? Don't go back on your word now… You know how upset that makes me." Irelia said in a pouty voice, although her eyes were sinisterly dark as Shen's silver table-knife slowly spun around on its own to face Shen. Shen glanced down at the blade before returning his gaze at the deadly blade-mistress, nodding quickly as he said, "Yes dear."

"See? And Kennen's going with Tristana." Irelia said.

"I thought Tristana was Teemo's girlfriend." Akali asked as Kennen swallowed food that was twice the size of his mouth. "He didn't keep his eyes on the birdy!" Kennen said, laughing as he began shoving more junk food into his mouth. Boy, that yordle could eat.

"Oh? What about Katarina?" Akali asked.

"Talon." Irelia replied smoothly.

"Garen?"

"Quinn."

"Weird. Lux?"

"Ezreal."

"Oh? What about Aatrox?"

"Fiora."

"You've got to be kidding me."

…

The night came around with lots of bright lights and sounds as the entire courtyard, which was a huge courtyard indeed, was filled with numerous stalls and shops set up for the enjoyment of champions and summoners alike. Oriental decorations had been set up, even actual Cherry blossom trees and paper lanterns, as most champions and summoners walked around in traditional Asian clothing, such as in Kimonos or Yukatas. Akali was wearing a short red kimono that reached down to her mid-thighs, with white padding over her chest and abdomen area. She wore knee high boots that were lightly armored, also red in color. Her hair, was tied into a nice, loose ponytail with a red ribbon, the color bringing out the brown of her hair, making it seem more brown than its usual dark color.

She was walking alone down the corridor, watching other people talk and spend time together. She was enjoying herself because of all the fun and amusement going around her, as well as the very ambience of being in such a familiarly decorated place. Brought back memories of her childhood.

Then, Shen came up to her. He was dressed in red clothing as well, complete with a red scarf and a mask that was slung around his belt.

"Akali, I need to talk to you." Shen said seriously as Akali raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong Shen?" She asked.

"I… I gotta tell you this before it's too late." Shen said. He sighed, obviously a bit troubled with what he was going to say. "Look, Akali, I…. I like you. I have feelings for you I should not have. I want to see you as a friend, as a comrade, but I can't help feel this attraction towards you." Shen said, his brown eyes gazing into Akali's maroon ones, which were slightly wide with surprise.

"Well… Wow, Shen, Um… I didn't expect this. I… Uh…" Akali muttered, unsure of what to say as a light blush showed on her cheeks. Sure, She had been asked out by a lot of guys many times before. But she knew Shen as well as he knew her. He wasn't that bad looking either.

But as she looked up at his kind but serious face, a face flashed across her vision, replacing Shen's face for a moment. The face that flashed had pale skin, a longer, harder face with battle scars… And uneven, black hair. But the biggest difference was their eyes. Where as Shen's eyes were brown and warm, the eyes that flashed across her mind were red, cold and dominating.

Akali stepped back in surprise, Shen also caught by surprise by her sudden move. "I… Uh… Need to think about it Shen… I'm sorry." She said quickly, turning around to walk away. But as she attempted to do just that, she bumped into a hard mass of muscles. The man she had bumped into was wearing a simple black Yukata with red linings, making it elegant, almost royal. Looking up, her eyes met the same face that had flashed across her mind…

* * *

**No, I don't support Quinn x Garen. I just made that so Garen/Quinn would have someone to go with. I actually don't like Garen pairing with anyone, except Lux, as weird as that sounds, but even then I prefer Lux and Ezreal better.  
**

**Garen: Why do you hate me so much Q-Q  
Me: Because you're a sword-wielding oaf that's a pain in the ass to kill. And you're so stupid, you throw _punches_ when you have a _big, fucking sword _to swing around. No one likes you.  
Garen: But... But I like me.  
Me: GTFO.  
Garen: v.v**

Yes, I don't like Garen. I actually loathe the Garen x Katarina thing.  
As for Shen x Akali, I'm quite Neutral about it. I don't think it's a bad matchup, but Shen would be too focused on work and balance than to be a good boyfriend for Akali. Besides, Akali seems like the girl who like bad boys.

**Also, Jax x Baron OTP.**

**So, readers, tell me what you think is going to happen next chapter AND what you personally want to happen. I wanna see who gets the closest to what I have in mind. Winners will have their names mentioned and will get to snipe a Teemo with a .50 cal. Losers will have the privilege of ALMOST killing a Teemo, only to have him run away with _5 FUCKING HEALTH POINTS BECAUSE HE FUCKING BLINDED YOU AND RUINED YOUR KILL FUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-_**

**kthnxbai.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, sorry about the delay, but I had put this story on hold as I needed to recollect my thoughts on the plot and how I was going to take it. I won't be updating this too much, focusing more on my main story.**

**If I'm not updating this story, you should check out my profile. There is a small section near the bottom where I post personal updates about what I'm going to do or what I'm in the process of doing.**

**Anyway, this chapter was a bit hard to write, so forgive me if I make any mistakes. From the next chapter on, I'll hopefully have a beta or alpha [Some people have mentioned they could be the beta for this story] so hopefully my spelling and grammar mistakes will noticeably decrease from the next chapter.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

**The Shadow that Watches**

**Chapter 5: Her pain is his.**

This was probably the worst situation that couldn't happened at the time. Here she, Akali, was standing, in between two men who shared the deepest of hostility towards each other.

Shen's face had fallen into indifference again, although there was a fire raging within his brown eyes. It was obvious that he hated the very presence of Zed, especially because Shen suspected that Zed had something to do with Akali's recent condition. She always seemed to have something on her mind these days.

Zed's face, the emotion on Shen's face mirrored on his own, was different in the fact that his eyes held nothing but sub-zero coolness. He stared down at Akali, who had walked into him, as Akali stared up at him in surprise. He could still see the slight pink tinge on her cheeks, which meant that she had been conversing something with Shen that had caused her to fluster.

"Zed. I suggest you keep moving." Shen said in his usual deep and controlled voice, although it had an edge to it that Shen reserved for Zed.  
"I don't think you can tell me what to do, Shen." Zed replied coolly, his crimson eyes moving up to stare at Shen's brown ones.  
"You've never been one to listen well enough to others." Shen said, a flicker of satisfaction crossing his eyes as Zed's eyes became colder, both of the males knowing what Shen was talking about.  
"And look what good it did for the 'others'." Zed said, a silent message passing under his words, only meant for Shen. And Shen received it, the amusement dying from his eyes as they were replaced with fury and rage. Zed smirked at the small victory.

Akali was no fool. She knew what the two male shinobi were talking about. She needed to put a stop to it before things got too heated. "Both of you, stop this at once." Akali said in a firm voice. She turned her head to look at Shen. "Shen, I'll talk to you later on."

It was a clear dismissal, but not one that implied that Akali was commanding Shen. With one last glare at Zed and an unfathomable look at Akali, Shen turned around, walking off and becoming lost from sight within the crowd.

Akali then turned around to look at Zed, while Zed stared down at her impassively. She didn't know what to say to him. But before she could think of what to say, Zed leaned closer to her face. In a whisper, he said to her, "If you try to butt into conversations of mine that don't concern you like that again, I'll be sure to make you regret it."

As Zed stalked off, Akali sighed, putting her hand to her forehead. As the tips of her forefinger and thumb massaged her temples, Akali couldn't help but think about what an asshole Zed was sometimes.

..

As the night wore on, it was nearly time for second most anticipated event in the festival. The Dance. Everyone who had someone accompanying them to the festival walked forward onto the large platform that was a few inches above the ground, made just for dancing in occasions like this. The air was filled with music as people enjoyed and danced to the rhythm. Around the platform was several tables with enough seating for anyone who didn't wish to dance or didn't have someone to dance with to sit.

Zed was sitting in one such chair, staring at the dancers, although not really focusing on anyone, as he absent mindedly swirled the goblet of red wine he had in his hand. Although this was a traditional Ionian holiday, there were mainland food and drinks available for anyone who didn't quite prefer the spice of the Ionian food or the drinks, such as Sake. Zed, for one, simply wished to drink red wine instead of sake. He preferred it, as he had never really liked sake.

As his red eyes skimmed across the dancers on the platform, his eyes stopped and focused on a woman in red. It was none other than Akali. She was laughing, something she did rarely, as she danced around with her small yordle friend, Kennen. Kennen was having fun, dancing like a woman as he spun and twirled around Akali, causing the female shinobi to laugh even more at his antics. She wasn't the only one amused by Kennen's dancing, but she was the only one who Zed focused on. It was like he had suddenly developed a bad case of tunnel vision, everything else just blurring out of focus or going black as Akali became sharper in his vision.

He could see the way her maroon eyes moved, reflecting the bright lights around her as her gaze followed the yordle infront of her. He could see her perfect white teeth, even if they were visible for a split second as she laughed. She could see her slender fingers gripping Kennen's furry hands, he could almost feel the gentle but firm grip she had. The grip of someone sure of oneself.

"Feeling down, Zed?" A feminine voice came from his right. Zed's red eyes tore away from Akali before focusing on the woman sitting across him in the same table. She was wearing a black kimono with her white hair tied up. Syndra.

"My feelings are none of your concern, Syndra." Zed said. Syndra wasn't anyone special to Zed, although the two were warmer towards each other than most people because of both of their affinity to the shadows. Syndra smiled as she followed his previous gaze, but couldn't really locate what he was looking at. Her eyes however, landed on Kennen and Akali.

"Look at them. And they call themselves ninjas." Syndra said with contempt as she narrowed her eyes at Kennen's silly display, mouth curling up into a sneer. Zed remained silence, although his eyes hardened momentarily. Not because Syndra had insulted Kennen, but because the insult had also been directed at Akali. For some reason, that caused Zed's mood to darken.

"What is it you want, Sorceress?" Zed asked as Syndra's smile turned sly.  
"Well, I thought the Master of Shadows looked like he could use some company. It's not every day I see you without something covering your face." Syndra said, her eyes twinkling. "You're actually quite handsome."

Zed took a small sip of his drink before putting it down. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Sovereign. Especially not with me. I'm sitting here alone because I wish to be alone." Zed said in a cold voice. Syndra was slightly taken back at Zed's more-than-usual hostility against her. Zed stood up, saying nothing before he walked off.

As he continued to walk around the dance floor, circling it like a predator, his eyes kept glancing at Akali. However, this caused him to be quite distracted as he bumped into someone. He was bumping into a lot of people, it seemed…

"Hmm…? Zed?" Talon said as he looked behind to his side to see Zed having bumped into him. Talon's brown eyes, equally as cold as Zed's red eyes although the latter's eyes held much more bitterness, gazed at the shadow master. Zed narrowed his eyes momentarily before widening it again, Talon turning his head back to watch the dancefloor. He was also wearing traditional Japanese clothing, consisting of a dark blue pair of hakama and a matching hakamashita.

The assassins didn't need words to converse as Zed stood next to Talon, who was leaning against a wall which supported one of many small stalls in the festival grounds. Zed joined Talon, leaning next to him and crossing his arms. The two assassins standing side by side could've been mistaken for brothers. Both of them had similar hairstyles, although Zed's hair was black and longer than Talon's shoulder-length dark brown hair. Talon's face was unscarred and slightly tanned, in contrast to Zed's battle-scarred pale face. Zed also stood a few inches taller than Talon.

"It seems I'm not the only one who's not enjoying this festival as much." Talon said in a bitterly amused voice as Zed's eyes skimmed across the dance floor again to find Katarina dancing with Garen. Zed raised an eyebrow as Talon stared darkly at Garen, his face impassive but his eyes shooting daggers, taking a small drink from the glass he held in his right hand.

"Didn't she accompany you?" Zed asked, glancing at the drink in Talon's hand. He must be quite distressed for an assassin to try and intoxicate himself. A part of Zed's mind sneered at the weakness being shown from Talon. _Losing your composure just because a woman likes another man… Pitiful._

Even though Zed and Talon had a more understanding relation than Zed hand with most other people, they weren't really friends nor enemies. Just acquaintances with the same interests.

"She did. But then that sword-wielding lug came along, wanting to dance with her just for the sake of keeping political appearances up." Talon said, his eyes narrowing as they turned darker, caused by witnessing Garen whisper something to Katarina, who in response, chuckled politely. He downed his drink completely before putting the empty glass on the tray of a passing waitress, taking another drink. Zed took a drink as well, although he wasn't planning on drinking enough to intoxicate himself. Talon, however, seemed to hold no qualms as he drank almost half of it in one go.

Zed 's lips curled up in an almost unnoticeable smirk as he failed to hold his contempt inside of him. His eyes finally stopped focusing on Katarina and went back to looking for Akali. As his red eyes landed on her form, they softened momentarily before hardening and becoming frigid cold. She was talking with Shen, who seemed to be asking her something. Even as Zed watched, the music became slower and the lights dimmed, Shen offering a hand to Akali. Akali looked embarrassed, looking down at his hand as she muttered something. Shen replied with a straight face as Akali nodded, placing her hand in his before they came close and began to dance…

Zed felt his skin burning, his eyes glowing with suppressed rage. His aggressive emotions heightened even further when he couldn't fathom why he had even begun to feel such anger. Hatred for Shen had never reared its head so violently like this before. Without even realizing it, Zed completely downed his drink, Talon turning his head to look at Zed with mild surprise before glancing at where Zed's gaze was focused. Talon's face became thoughtful as he found Akali dancing slowly with Shen, their closeness and posture almost romantic. Well, the slow dance itself was romantic. Just as Talon was about to look for Katarina, his mood darkening horribly at the thought of Garen dancing with her, Katarina came up right infront of him. "Talon, I was looking for you. Come on, lets see how good those skilled feet of yours are for something slow and sensual." Katarina said in a low, passionate voice as Talon's mood instantly became better. A small smirk played on his lips as he accompanied her to the dance floor, leaving Zed standing there alone, glowering at Akali and Shen.

He grabbed another glass from a passing waitress, downing the bitter alcohol before taking yet another glass right afterwards, the waitress thoroughly surprised and confused to see Zed like this.  
"Zed-sama, are you alright?" She asked. She paled and quickly scurried away as Zed's eyes turned to her, almost murderous. With the waitress gone, Zed took another deep drink from his glass, already feeling the effects. Since he had always kept himself from intoxication, his tolerance was quite low. He could already feel a buzzing in his head and everything seemed slightly numb and distant, blurred even. Only Akali and Shen was in complete focus.

And as Zed watched, Shen and Akali, who seemed to be conversing something, suddenly drew closer, Akali resting her head against Shen's chest as Shen rested his head upon her head. It looked like the two were growing even closer as their position now seemed like a couples. His temper at it's limit, Zed was aware of his hand clenching the glass hard until, with a sudden burst, the glass exploded in his hands, sharp fragments flying everywhere around him as it shredded his hands.

A few people glanced curiously over to him but turned away, not wanting to be caught looking by a very livid Shadow master. The alcohol had drowned his composure, letting his emotions surface like a venomous serpent rearing its head. Even the blood pouring from his hand, some glass shards caught in his white-knuckled grip, causing his palm to be shredded even further, could not break his attention from what was infront.

And then, just as his anger had boiled up suddenly, another emotion spiked inside of him. His anger crumbled, replaced by an even more powerful emotion. Betrayal. He felt the bitter feeling of betrayal inside of him again, like a knife twisting inside his chest, his furious eyes softening in pain. A rare emotion crossed his face, one he had sworn to never show again. Pain. He closed his eyes, lowering his head as his hair fell infront of his face.

Why was he even caring about this woman? Every step of his life was climaxed with betrayal. The betrayal of his master when he had achieved the forbidden power. The old man was too blind with love for his darling Shen to praise Zed's power. Then the betrayal of his former friend and brother, Shen, right afterwards. Even Shen, so brainwashed by false visions of balance and peace, had turned his back on Zed, swearing to Zed that if he ever saw Zed again, he would kill him.

Then, the betrayal of the girl for a mistake he did not commit. One stupid student of his had killed the mother of this girl he had grown so close to… And she had blamed him just because he was the teacher. He asked. He requested. He begged. He fell to his knees, infront of his students, throwing his honor and pride on the floor as he swore to Akali that he would set things right, that he would have the culprit punished horribly. He pleaded helplessly for her to stay, but like everyone else in his life, she had turned her back on him and left him…

Zed shook his head, thinking what kind of sick masochistic fool he was for allowing her to even come close to him again. He had allowed himself to think that he was drawn to her because of his predatory instincts. He had been fooled by himself. And yet again, he was left all alone.

With that thought in his mind, Zed turned around, blood still dripping from his hand, and walked away. This time, he had turned his back on her. On Shen. On everyone and everything. From now, he would truly walk alone…

…

Akali was exhausted. The night had gone on for much longer than expected, ending with a brilliant display of fireworks. She smiled as memories of the event flashed across her mind. Some parts, like dancing with Kennen or witnessing Irelia steal Master Yi's dumplings from his plate by telepathically controlling forks and knives, made her smile brighten. But as her dance with Shen came to her mind, her smile turned a bit sad, the memory replaying itself in her mind…

_Akali had just finished dancing with Kennen, the yordle saying something about meeting with Tristana as Akali waved him away. Just then, Shen had walked up to her. Akali, remembering the conversation they had had earlier, awkwardly greeted him. The silence that followed was even more awkward. Finally, Shen had said,_

"_Akali… Would you dance with me?"_

_Akali looked down at the hand he had offered her. Those calloused hands that seemed so gentle in comparison to the rough ways he used them. Her face fell as she blushed lightly, uncomfortable with such emotional socializing._

"_Umm… Shen… I already to-"_

"_This isn't about that, Akali. I just want one dance. One last dance before I have to go back to doing my duty to preserve the balance. One last dance where you can see me as I am, not as who I am trained to be." Shen said quietly, his eyes silently pleading her. Finally, Akali closed her eyes and nodded, placing her hands, small in comparison, into his, as his fingers slowly closed._

_Within moments, he had pulled her close to him to suit the music, his movements both gentle and respectful. He was giving her some personal space, most of their body close but not touching, before beginning to dance. It was slow and relaxing, as Akali found herself slowly being soothed by the music and the rhythmic movements. Shen was leading, and he was doing a fine job of perfectly timing the movements, as well as going at the perfect pace. Not too fast nor too slow._

_Finally, during the climax of the song, Shen had asked, "Akali… Is there a chance… Any chance… For us? Do you need time?" _

_Akali lowered her head, eyes closed in pain at the thought of how Shen must be feeling right now. "Shen… I'm so sorry, but I stand by what I said earlier… I just cannot think of you that way. You are one of the closest people in my life." She said, looking up to meet his brown eyes with her maroon ones, "But only as a friend. As a brother."_

_Shen closed his eyes, managing to give a sad albeit weak smile as he opened his eyes again. "I understand, Akali… I… I…"_

_Before Shen could say more, Akali closed the distance, hugging him gently as she placed the side of her head on his chest, hearing his heartbeat as her arms crossed around his back. Shen was still for a few seconds before his hands also went around her back, his head lowering to rest upon hers as Akali comforted Shen. Shen took solace in the fact that though Akali didn't love him romantically, she did love him in another way and cared about him and his well-being._

"_Thank you Akali…" He muttered, as Akali nodded against his chest. The two stayed like that, just their feet moving as they continued the dance in that manner, Akali comforting Shen for his rejection while Shen was unintentionally also easing Akali's troubled mind. It felt good to have the warmth of someone she cared about next to her body, although her mind yearned for the warmth of another. She could easily have said yes to Shen. She could've easily done all sorts of romantic things with him. Shen was a nice guy. Responsible, smart, cool-headed, perhaps even funny in times of rest and relaxation, where rare glimpses into Shen's actual personality was revealed. But she knew that, every second they would spend together, her mind would place another in his stead. She would yearn for the touch of another, desire the voice of another, even wish for the personality of another. Shen would just be false gold, used to ease her buried desire of another. She didn't want to use him like that. She didn't want to hurt him like that._

Akali sighed, eyes closing at the thought of Shen's wistful smile as he had walked away. However, one thought had been nagging at her mind throughout the dance and even now, as she was walking back to the residential wing where her room was. _Where is Zed?_

And as if it was destined for her question to be answered right then, she found herself staring at Zed, who was lounging upon a sofa in a very un-Zed like way. Like he had just plopped down onto it. Her eyes looked down to see a large puddle of blood on the floor, her eyes widening as she looked at Zed for the source of it. He seemed to be sleeping, eyes closed and face peaceful even in his messy way of lying upon the sofa. There were no wounds upon him but his left hand was bandaged up tightly. Probably a healer had healed it while he was dozing, she guessed. But she still frowned as she wondered how he could've hurt himself.

She walked over to him, intending to bring him back to his room. As she walked around to the front of the sofa, where Zed was fully visible to her, her frown turned to mild surprise. Zed had changed, now wearing a black pair of trousers although he was shirtless. His defined muscular form was visible to her even in the low lights, most of the lights in the room turned off due to the time. If he had come back and changed, why had he come out of his room and fallen asleep on the sofa?

Putting her thoughts away for later, she walked over to him, wondering how she would carry him to his room. But as if her presence alone had triggered something, Zed's eyes suddenly opened. In a flash, Zed had stood up and grabbed Akali by her shoulders. She felt the world spinning before having the wind knocked out of her, absently registering that Zed had spun her into the sofa. Now she was lying on her back, staring up at Zed's intense crimson eyes. They were glowing in the dark atmosphere, staring down at her eyes with heat as Akali felt her heartbeat quickening. She was too surprised to even speak.

"Akali…" He breathed her name, as Akali's nose picked up the heavy smell of alcohol. Her mood instantly changed. Something was very wrong with Zed for him to be drunk.

"Zed, what's wrong?" She asked, trying to get up. But Zed's hands held her shoulder's down.

"I've been waiting for you." He said in a low voice, staring down at her with his frigid stare, Akali's struggles stopping as her eyes widened again. Her heart beat quickened further, but this time, it was due to fear.

"Zed. Let me go." She said, but Zed didn't respond.

"I've been meaning to ask you something, Akali." Zed said in a sinister tone, Akali's eyes widening further as panic began to seep into her veins. She began to struggle again, harder this time as Zed leaned closer.

"How many men have you pleasured yourself with?"

The statement hit Akali like a slap to the face. She instantly stopped, staring at Zed with disbelief on her face, mouth gaping at the absurdness of his insult. "What!?" She hissed at him, incredulity and rising anger evident in her voice.

"I said, how many men got to have your body for their own perverse pleasures. How many men fucked you until you moaned and screamed their name?" Zed said venomously. Akali wasn't sure how, perhaps Zed's grip had loosened or perhaps she had experienced a burst of strength to break out of his grip, but her hand had streaked across the air, striking his face with a sound like a whip's crack in the silent air. Zed's head was turned to the side as Akali withdrew her hand, breathing through clenched teeth as her anger flared.

"I don't care who you are Zed. Institute rules be damned, I will fucking gut you if you call me a slut one more time." Akali said, knowing that she shouldn't be reacting this way. Zed was drunk, he wasn't himself. But for some reason, the words coming from him had hurt her more than any physical wounds she had received. Zed slowly turned his head back to face her, his face noticeably colder, his eyes threatening.

Zed's hands pushed her down by the shoulders again, suddenly straddling her as he sat ontop of her, Akali beginning to thrash around to escape. "Let go Ze- Ow, you're hurti- ZED, LET GO!" She screamed, but Zed's rage was blinding his thoughts, which was already numbed by the alcohol. He lowered his mouth to hers, forcefully kissing her as Akali was caught off guard by the sudden assault. She let out a muffled scream against his mouth, Zed's tongue entering her mouth to explore, forcing her tongue back everytime she tried to push his tongue out with hers. She was still writhing under his grip, but with his chest pressing down upon hers and his hands holding her arms pinned down, she was trapped. One of his hand released her arm, his weight being sufficient to pin her, as it went to her side to explore. His right hand gripped her left midriff, feeling her lithe side-curves as he trailed it upwards to her ribcage. Akali's movements became even more frantic as his hands cupped her left breast through her kimono, gripping down tightly upon it.

Akali closed her eyes, screaming against his mouth, struggling to breath as tears fell from her eyes. She had always imagined having her first time with the man she loved. And now, here she was, her first time with the man she unknowingly loved. But not like this. Her fantasies had always been slow, passionate, full of love. Not like this. This wasn't love. This was rape. Her screams turned to whimpers as tears continued to pour out of the corners of her eyes.

Zed froze as he felt wetness on her cheeks. Pausing all of his movements, he released his hold on her chest and shoulder as pushed himself up, separating his mouth from hers as he panted. He watched Akali, who was whimpering, tears streaming from her eyes. At the realization of her hands being free, Akali crossed themselves over her chest in shame, using them to protect herself instead of attacking Zed. A painful realization shot through like an arrow into Zed's mind as he realized everything he was doing. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared down at Akali's submissive display, then at his own hands. He had been this close to doing an unforgivable act. He had been this close to scarring a woman, a woman he knew and cared about once upon a time, for life. He got off of her, stumbling back as he continued to stare at her, regret evident on his face. Akali sat up, scrambling away from Zed as she drew her knees closer to herself, hugging them as she curled up protectively, staring at Zed with mistrust and fear.

Zed couldn't believe himself. He had almost done it. He had been so close… He had let himself break every code he lived by on one single night. And there was no one to blame here but himself. His leg hit a table as he continued to stumble back, breaking his thoughts. He turned around, like a coward, unable to face his faults as he hastily walked back to his room, shutting and locking his door. Running away from his problems like a child, locking the door as if that would fix everything. He leaned against the door, his legs giving away as he slid down to a sitting position on the floor, his back on the door. He stared up at the dark ceiling of his room helplessly, his face distraught as he muttered, his voice almost choking with regret, "What have I done…"

* * *

**Just to clarify, no, Zed did not rape Akali. But it did come fairly close, although no articles of clothing was taken off [Zed was already undressed from the waist up, sexy beast he is.] But the very implication of it is quite a traumatizing blow for both parties, as Zed had been under the influence of drink and his rage. Hope I wrote this chapter well enough for your enjoyment, please leave a review about your thoughts. Though I might not reply to you directly, I always take what you review to heart. I've received some responses of people who didn't like this story and I just want to clarify that I'm not disheartened nor hurt, not in the slightest. Instead, I'm gracious for the advice they have given me which I can use to improve, and I would also like to thank everyone who reviewed for taking the time to do so.**

**Though I won't be changing the plot of my story, I'll try to improve my style of writing. I've also changed the summary to include AU since there are some modern things in this story of mine [Such as lighting, clothes and other things which you might see.]**

**Thanks for reading.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey dear readers and let me welcome you all to a new chapter!**

**First off, Why did I decide to update this so fast? Because I need some time to collect my thoughts on my other story lol.**

**Also, I'd like to share an idea of mine for a new fic I'm planning on writing after I'm done with all of this. Please do leave your thoughts on my idea if you'd like to see it as a story or not.**

**Title: Undecided as of yet [Give suggestions pls]**

**Summary: A man kidnaps 11 of Valoran's greatest and drops them into a circular room. Everyone chained to the walls by collars on their necks, they must endure days of torture as the man plays out his twisted research by dosing them with random serums. Bloodlust, Lust, Anger, Depression, all of these must be endured as Talon has only one thought in his mind; Protect Katarina.**

**Pairings: Talon x Katarina, Lux x Ezreal, Jarvan x Shyvana**

**Characters: Talon, Katarina, Draven, Darius, Leblanc, Ezreal, Garen, Lux, Jarvan, Shyvana, Fiora.**

**Genre: Horror**

**Rated: M for intense gore, sexual scenes, violence.**

**So guys, what do you think? Keep it in mind while you read the story~ Enjoy!**

* * *

**Special thanks to Skij Leonhart for being my alpha-reader!  
Now my story is free of stupid errors! Yay!  
[It had stupid errors in the first place because I'm too lazy to read it again _]**

* * *

**[Also, during the later scenes, _Only Italics_ means it's a summoner while_ 'single quoted italics means it's Zed.' ]_**

**The Shadow that Watches**

**Chapter 6: Running from oneself, no longer.**

A knock was heard on the door of the training room as Zed sighed, his body relaxing with the exhale. He was dressed in his usual armored outfit, minus the helmet although he had his facemask on. To train in his battle armor was considered to be true training for him.

"Enter." Zed said as a worker of the institute entered.  
"Zed, I hear you had requested some medication for a hangover?" The summoner asked, a bright looking man with blonde hair and green eyes. He looked young for a summoner. Perhaps he was a protégé or a very gifted young man?

Zed turned his head to the side since he had his back to the summoner, his shoulders still rising and falling a bit quicker than normal as his breathing slowly returned to a normal pace. "Indeed I did. This headache is making it hard for me to focus." He said, his head going through intense throbs of pain which seemed to match his heart beats. It was annoying and made everything seem a bit muffled.

The summoner nodded, smiling knowingly as he produced a bottle from inside his sleeves. The bottle had a clear liquid inside as he held it out to Zed. Zed turned around and plucked it from the summoner's hands, uncorking it as the summoner spoke.

"I've also come here to give you a warning Zed." The summoner said, his voice still casual. Zed was in the process of drinking so the only indication he was listening was his red eyes focusing on the summoner, who didn't even flinch. "Oh? And are you going to be the one to give it to me?" He asked, his voice low as he finished drinking.

"Yes I am. That's why I'm here, after all. Anyway, I wish to tell you that frightening or otherwise threatening our workers is not an acceptable act." The summoner said as Zed flicked through his memories. He had thought this had been about yesterday night… About what he had been about to do…

As Zed seemed lost in thought, the Summoner sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Look Zed, we know everyone has bad days, but you can't just traumatize nurses like that, especially ones trying to help you." He said as Zed remembered the time he had punched the wall. The nurse who had been trying to help him had to face the brunt of Zed's aggression until Akali intervened.

"I do not let people I do not trust come near me, summoner." Zed said as he turned around again, going back to looking at his wooden target. The target was simply a large dummy made of solid wood, it's fronts and sides already splintered and fractured from Zed's strikes.

"So I assume Akali is someone you trust?" The Summoner asked, a small smile playing on his lips.

Zed stood still for a few seconds, his back still turned to the summoner. "What are you implying, Summoner?" Zed asked, his voice eerily quiet.

"I think you already know, Zed." The summoner said, tapping his nose knowingly.

"Tell me, young summoner," Zed turned his head to look past his shoulder to see the blonde boy standing there with his arms crossed in a confident pose.  
"What is your name?"

"I'm Summoner Jason." He replied, still maintaining a casual composure as he gave Zed a relaxed grin.

"Tell me Jason, do you wish to die in the next... 20 seconds?" Zed inquired coolly, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the summoner.

"Harming Summoners is one of the greatest crimes a cham-"

"15 seconds left, Jason. If you believe rules will stop me, feel free to stay."

Jason stayed quiet for a few moments, his smile faltering as he then nodded. "Good day, Zed."  
With that, Jason walked out of the room, leaving Zed to mull over his thoughts. At least his head wasn't throbbing anymore.

…

The bathroom was filled with steamy vapour from the hot shower as a lithe female figure stepped out of the shower. Her body was dripping with water as she walked over to the mirror above the sink. Wiping the fog away with a slender hand, Akali's reflection stared back at her. Maroon eyes, looking firm and strong as always. Peach colored skin, feeling as smooth as it looked. Her face had a mysterious type of beauty to it, her long hair dark enough to be considered black but also light enough to be considered a dark brown. Akali looked at herself hard for a few seconds. Was she truly beautiful?

She didn't mean if she was attractive or sexually appealing. Was she beautiful in the way that would cause a man to love her? No, not just any man… Was she beautiful enough for him?

Yet, the thought of him now brought mixed thoughts into her head. Like always, she still had the desire to learn more about him, to wipe away the clouds of bitterness that surrounded the lonely enigma known as Zed. She had to admit, she felt a deep longing for him.  
But after last night, she also felt a new array of emotions. Fear, distrust, pain. She raised her hands to her chest as she inspected her left breast. There were faint bruises visible on it, reminders of what had happened last night. What had almost happened, to be exact. Placing her hands flat on the left side of her chest, gentle so as not to hurt herself, she could feel her heart beating right underneath. This was where Zed's hand had been. Only a few inches of skin, muscle, blood and bone separated his skilled hands from her heart. Those same hands which were skilled in the deadly art of killing.

If he had wanted to, he could've ended her right then and there. The shock of being attacked in a way she had never been attacked before, completely overpowered and left helpless to the force attacking her… That shock had caused her combat instincts to be thrown out the window, leaving her completely defensive and submissive, like a typical woman.

Akali raised her face, trying to force a smile on her face, the end result being feeble and shaky. She knew in her heart that she couldn't blame Zed. He was intoxicated, not in his senses. But what had caused his aggression to trigger so violently? What had led him to call her a….

Akali winced; the sting of his words, drunken slurs or not, still painful. She had never been touched by a man. Except Zed. He had been the only one to have ever gotten so intimately close to her on so many different occasions. Slowly, Akali's heart had been opening up for him… But then he had to go and call her a whore, effectively slamming the door of her heart shut on her face when she had held it out so openly to him.

But it wasn't his fault, and the memories of last night also flashed another image through her mind; the image of Zed's face as realization had dawned on him. He had never seen him so shocked and hurt before. She and he both knew that it wasn't directly Zed's fault, but Akali knew that Zed was blaming himself. Even a part of Akali's mind was blaming him for that harrowing experience.

But the majority of her mind, trained in the arts of equilibrium and balance, knew that he was, in a way, innocent. She had to go talk to him. With that thought made up, Akali's eyes focused on her reflection again. What had once been a soft, womanly beauty on her face had now turned strong and firm, a type of strength glowing from her face, a fire of determination burning behind her eyes. Akali decided she liked this look better.

…

It was around mid-day when Zed had been summoned for a game. As Zed, dressed in his battle regalia, looked around the platform at his team, his eyes were met with the determined gaze of Akali, who stood opposite to him. He didn't take his eyes off of her for a long time and neither did she, but time was short as they had to get moving. So, Akali took off mid while Zed began making his way towards top lane.

_Can you hear me Zed? _His summoner called within his mind as Zed's eyes narrowed, his lips curling up in a small smirk under his helmet and mask. '_Summoner Jason, what an unpleasant surprise.'_

_Glad to see I wasn't forgotten. Anyway, your opponent in solo-top is Master Yi. Please play with some care as Master Yi's early damage and mobility make him a very versatile opponent._

'_Don't teach me how to fight, Summoner. Just give me my first skill and be gone.'_

…_Fine._

Zed stopped in front of his tower as he felt a tingling at his back. A second later, two shurikens materialized on the back of his shoulder blades, their familiar weight giving him some peace of mind. Far across the curved lane, he could see Master Yi standing infront of his own tower. As always, the Ionian samurai had a cocky smile on his face. "Hey Zed! My summoner is using a special filter so he doesn't have to see Shadows! Guess you're screwed, eh!?" Master Yi shouted as Zed's eyes narrowed.

_Disgrace._

The fight began as the minion waves, every minion swearing and screaming utter nonsense, crashed into each other. Zed had long ago adapted to silence out the incoherent minion speak, as they mostly consisted of swear words and references to female champions, specifically their busts. Zed allowed none of this to distract him as he patiently stood and waited for the minions to be on the verge of death before using his blade to end their lives, scoring gold for himself to use later on.

Master Yi, on the other hand, was being the exact opposite. He was moving around, almost never standing still, as he shouted taunts to Zed. He was trying to be a hard target while also trying to chip away at Zed's temper. But like the trained assassin he was, his patience was nearly bottomless. His eyes were studying Yi's movements with the skill that only a master like himself had perfected. Then, suddenly, Zed made a sudden move, a Shadow warrior appearing right next to Yi.

Thinking that he was going to fire a shuriken, Yi quickly launched into a lightning fast strike, becoming impossible to see for a few moments as he cut several minions into pieces. But Zed had wanted this. As soon as Yi was finishing his slash, Zed had switched places with his Shadow. Now he was right behind Master Yi as he threw out his Shuriken. Master Yi only managed to turn his head around to face Zed in surprise before two shurikens struck him from both behind and front. Zed was used to using oversized Shurikens, so his attack would've completely bifurcated Master Yi.

But Master Yi's summoner had reacted within a split second, flashing the samurai to the side as the Shurikens clashed in midair. Zed was not put off as he jumped towards where Yi was with a roar of aggression. His right arm was pulled back before being thrust forward, his arm blades shooting outwards. Yi raised his sword to block Zed's strike, but as Zed landed, he twisted his arm so the arm blades on his right hand caught Yi's sword down the gap in the middle. Effectively disabling Yi's weapon, Zed used his other arm to launch and uppercut at Yi's head, the blades shooting out. But Yi stepped back, dodging the fatal attack as it sliced his beard off. Yi spun around, his right hand still on his sword as he pulled it out from Zed's blades lengthwise, finishing the spin by bringing the blade around to slice Zed's head off. During all of this battle, neither combatants had noticed that their summoners were shouting about both team's junglers approaching to aid them.

Zed wasn't slow to react either as he dashed forward, falling onto his knees. He slid right under the slash before he brought both of his arm blades out and slashed out in a 180 degree arc on each side. Since Yi was to his right, Zed' s right armblades slashed through Yi's armor at the waist, almost cutting the man in half as Yi screamed in pain. Zed's blades had stuck halfway through Yi's abdomen, Yi having very little time to live.

"BY MY HONOR!" Yi shouted, blood spurting out of his mouth as he stepped back and spun, crying out in pain as the move caused Zed's blade to dig into his torso more, but it place Yi's back against Zed's front, pushing Zed's right arm up against his own body.

Before Zed could move away, Yi used his sword to stab his own body, the blade coming out of Yi's back and entering Zed's torso. Zed gave a gasp of pain as he felt the cold steel cutting through his internals. Stepping back, Zed kicked Master Yi's corpse away from him as the announcer above called first blood. Zed gripped at his chest wound, taking ragged breaths. All of a sudden, another kill was announced as he saw their team's jungler, Tryndamere, finally falling to their team's jungler, Lee Sin. Zed, badly wounded, began to retreat to the river as Lee Sin followed, intent on avenging the other Ionian.

Again, the announcer shouted a kill as Zed faintly registered Akali's name being mentioned. Infront of him, he could see Akali limping out of the brush. She was badly wounded, poison darts on her arms and torso, but her eyes were burning with determined fire. That is when Zed knew what he had to do.

As he half-ran, half-limped to Akali, who was hiding in the bush, Lee Sin suddenly lunged, aiming a flying kick at Zed. All of a sudden, Zed disappeared, surrounding Lee with two other shadows as he appeared behind him. Each of the shadows slashed outwards as Lee protected himself with his shield. Behind, Zed aimed a stab at Lee's lower back, but Lee had turned around to deal a roundhouse kick at Zed.

Akali suddenly darted out of the bush, flying across Lee as her kick missed, but it was intentional. As she passed, her one of her kama cut through the back of Lee's neck, decapitating the man completely. But the kick had already landed as Zed felt his ribs shattering, flying back from the impact as he slammed into a wall and slid down into the shallow river water. Akali, too weak to land perfectly, landed in a small heap as her momentum carried her unstable body from a crouch-landing into a fall. She got up quickly, her green robes wet with blood and water as she crawled over to where Zed sat.

All thoughts had vanished from Akali's mind. She had forgotten that Zed wasn't truly dying, She had forgotten about the match itself. She kneeled next to Zed, who was half-sitting, half lying against the wall, blood pouring out from the slits on his helmet.

"Zed… " Akali breathed, reaching out and taking his helmet off as her maroon eyes met with Zed's crimson ones. "Oh Zed…" She whispered, Zed trying hard to breath as he felt the blood pooling in his punctured lungs.

"Akali…" Zed whispered, his eyes softening as Akali grabbed the sides of his head. Even if this wasn't Zed's true death, Akali knew that any day in the future, at any moment, everything could end just like this. Zed could die and leave Akali alone in this world. That single thought brought such a wave of emotions into her, Akali choked as she tried hard not to cry.

"Zed… I don't blame you for last night… It wasn't your fault, so don't blame yourself…" Akali whispered, her head lowering at the pain of watching Zed suffer as her shaky hands lowered from his head onto his shoulders, Zed's breathing slowing gradually.

"Akali…" He whispered again as she looked up at him. Zed's bright red eyes focused on her brown red ones again as he held her gaze. She didn't lower her eyes either as time seemed to slow around them, just the intensity of their gazes upon each other filling up their worlds.

Finally, Zed let out a long breath, his eyes still on hers, the life finally leaving him as his eyes dulled. Akali felt deep sorrow inside of her, only her battle composure holding her together while her mind soothed her by reminding her that he wasn't truly dead. Giving a shaky sigh, she raised her blood cover hands and used her finger tips to close his eyes, trailing her fingers down his face before standing up and walking back to her lane…

As Zed's consciousness was pulled away from his body, his subconscious gave his mind an unexpected feeling of peace. His last sight while leaving his body had been Akali's maroon eyes, the eyes he was always mystified by. With a sigh, Zed waited as his body was reconstructed by the revival magic.

_What was all that about?_

'_Summoner Jason, do you see a future for yourself?'_

…_Why yes, I'm quite gifted and handsome. I daresay, I do see a future for myself._

'_Good, so you know what you have to lose if you try to intrude upon my personal matters again.'_

_Wow, what's got your panties in a twist?_

Zed audibly growled as he reappeared at the summoning platform. "Bad summoner?" The Shopkeeper asked. Zed simply glared at the tiny yordle shop keeper as he bought his items in silence…

…

An hour later, Zed's team had emerged victorious, mainly due to Akali and Zed's vicious ganks. These two had been roaming all over the map, aided by their summoners as they struck fast and hard. They had worked like they had been doing this together for years. Zed helped Akali and Akali helped him, the two ninjas fought with such sync that once the battle was complete, a lot of the champions were applauding them with surprised looks of approval at their team play.

"I never thought I'd see the day Zed would sync so well with another champion, let alone another ninja. Well, I can't really see, but you get the idea." Lee Sin said, nodding in approval as Master Yi smirked. "Do I sense a bit more in between you two?" He said coyly as Zed snarled, his blades springing out of his hand. Yi backed off, raising his hands submissively as he said, "Hey man, take it easy! I was only joking."

Zed stayed in his aggressive posture for a few more moments before he relaxed, his blades springing back into his gauntlets. Without a word to anyone else, he left, as Akali and the rest of the room stared after him. "Did Zed seem a little too… Emotional about the matter?" Ashe asked, brows furrowed in confusion and thought as Tryndamere stepped up next to her. "Beats me. He always seems like he has a stick up his ass to me."

With chatter like this going on for a few minutes, each champion left one by one. Akali was one of the last to go, waving farewell to Ashe before heading out towards the residential wing. She was tired and though she was quite clean, she still felt the stickiness of blood all over her. She looked forward to another bath with anticipation, wishing nothing more than to get this dirty feeling off of her skin.

As Akali opened her door, she entered the dark room and turned around to close the door. She yawned, stretching her arms up. A small cough from behind caused her to jump, startled as she turned around to see two dimly glowing crimson eyes in the darkness. Turning on the lights, she saw that it was none other than Zed. He was sitting on her bed, feet planted on the ground as his elbows rested upon his thighs. His hands, in turn, were placed under his nose, fingers intertwined, supporting his face as he stared up at Akali.

"Zed. How did you get into my room?" Akali asked, taking a defensive stance.

"Relax Akali. I only came here to talk." Zed replied, his voice low as he continued to stare at her with an unblinking gaze.

"How…?"

"I used a shadow technique. The same one I use on the fields." Zed answered, his voice still maintaining the same volume.

Akali gave a small sigh as she then crossed her arms under her chest and leaned back against the door, taking a relaxed posture. "Wouldn't it have been better to knock after I came back?" She asked.

Zed didn't reply nor react, his eyes still trained on her. His crimson gaze was beginning to make her feel a bit uneasy. "So…. Uh, what did you want to talk about?"

"You. Me. Us. The past. The present. Everything." Zed replied without the slightest hesitation.

"Can you be a bit more specific?" Akali asked, raising an eyebrow as she pulled her facemask down. She was still in her green ninja robes. Though it was perfect for her fast methods of combat, it suddenly felt very revealing infront of Zed as her crossed arms tightened self-consciously around her front, a small blush appearing on her cheeks.

"It's pretty obvious that you have feelings for me. That I have feelings for you." Zed replied, his face and voice completely void of any emotion or change while Akali's face went from slight embarrassment to surprised embarrassment, her blush deepening.

"W-W-What do you mean!?" She asked indignantly, trying to deny the fact. But Zed had stood up and with eerily fast and quiet motions, he had come right infront of Akali. He placed his right hand on the door next to her head, effectively cornering her into the corner as he leaned in, their bodies inches apart, their faces mere centimeters. Akali's breath caught in her chest as she stared up at his paralyzing gaze, his eyes softer than usual as he stared down at her.

"I am a fool, Akali. A power hungry, self-centered fool who is blind to what lies infront of me. I always thought what we had between us was dead after you left me all those years ago. But it had never died. It only lied under the hundreds of layers I had put over it to protect myself from the pain of your absence. But now, after being so close to you for so long, I am no longer able to deny the fact that I still care about you more than I should. No matter how much I try to replace my feelings with anger, no matter how much I try to hurt myself into hating you by remembering how you left me, by remembering how you had danced with Shen. No matter how much I tried, my entire body replied otherwise. I felt myself caring about you. I got angry and jealous when you spent time with Shen. I felt remorse and self-loathing when I almost hurt you… But today, when I had been slain by Lee Sin, I realized that I felt at complete peace just because you were with me. I feel comfortable when I'm around you…" Zed paused here, giving a moment to the silence that hung around them, neither person even breathing. "…I _want _to be with you."

"But I also cannot."

The last sentence broke Akali out of the trance she was in. She had hung onto his every word, her breath stilled as her heart beat frantically, whether due to the lack of oxygen or due to Zed's closeness, she was not sure. But his last sentence broke the moment they had as Akali blinked, drawing breath again. "Why?" She breathed as Zed closed his eyes and lowered his face a bit.

"I'm a monster, Akali. I'm a cold-hearted murderer. I don't know If I'm even capable of caring for someone. I might hurt you or worse, kill you. I'm not someone you should be with. You should be with someone who will take care of you. Who will love you as you will love him. Someone whose past isn't scarred and coated red with the lives of thousands." Zed seemed to choke on his words, forcing his last sentence out, "Someone like Shen."

It felt like he was stabbing himself with his own blades. Zed was a master of war and the art of killing. He could slay hundreds without flinching or tiring, but when faced with confronting his true feelings, he had spent the last few years running. Running from his feelings, running from himself. Now, he was exposing his soul to the world. His scarred, barren soul which held no warmth nor any good. He was exposing it and then stabbing it, destroying it to give himself the peace of not having to see this woman infront of him suffer with him. He would rather have her be happy with someone else.

"Zed." Akali whispered as her hands came up and cupped his face. None of the enmity she had felt for Zed surfaced now. Whatever had happened was in the past. Everyone had things in the past they regret. For Akali, she regretted ever leaving Zed. She knew it wasn't his fault her mother had died… But, even still she had left him

Cupping his face with her soft warm hands, contrasting with the cold skin of his face, she raised his face so he had to look at her. His eyes seemed pained, forlorn and distant as they focused on her.

"Zed… You are the man I love." Akali whispered as Zed's eyes widened in surprise. " I do not love Shen. I love you Zed. I have loved you for so long, but I'm not comfortable with this feeling, Zed. I'm afraid of it, it feels so powerful and raw… After seeing the pain you had lived through, it made me want to be there for you, to support you… But it also frightened me. I never wanted to feel the pain of betrayal like you did. I was scared, so scared…" She whispered, a sorrowful but happy expression on her face as she stared up at him.

"I'm afraid, Akali… Afraid I might hurt you. My mind and body has been trained for killing, not for caring. I don't know how to love." Zed replied as Akali's hands travelled lower to the back of Zed's neck.

"Then I'll teach you to love as you've taught me to kill." She whispered as she pulled him in. Finally, Zed's intense gaze faltered as he closed his eyes, his lips meeting hers softly as Akali pulled him closer. It was a soft, gentle kiss. It held no passion nor any lust. But it held meaning. It signified a new beginning as both ninjas allowed themselves to relax into the simple action of touching their lips together, drawing closer. Zed's hands grabbed her waist to pull her closer as Akali's arms reached forward and curled around his back. Like that, softly kissing each other, the two stayed for a few seconds. But for them, with every feeling of enmity shoved aside so their souls could finally connect, the moment felt like it had lasted an eternity…

* * *

**Yeaaaah, we finally got some action going on! Zed finally stopped having a stick up his ass and now used that stick to beat the living shit out of Yi before getting hit with it to realize what he'd been missing all along! He still has the stick up his ass though.**

**Anyways, please leave your thoughts and comments on the chapter in a review as well as your thoughts on the idea I presented at the beginning of the chapter! Thanks alot for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

** I am on a firey passion filled roll and I plan to write this chapter as long as that drive lasts! It's awesome for you readers as that means another fast update! This chapter has some painful scenes to watch as well as how Zed and Akali are adjusting to life together. Also, my idea pool for my other story is completely dry so I'm draining this one now while that one refills! xD**

**Also, word of caution, for any of you Zed x Syndra shippers, you might hate me for this chapter. But given Syndra's personality and how Syndra x Zed is a popular ship, one I support as well, this was bound to happen.**

**Yes, my readers, the story is going to end soon. But it's going to end at chapter 10 or 11, so there are still some more chapters to look forward to and yes, a Lemon/smut.**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

**Shoutout to Skij Leonhart for being my awesome alpha-reader! He's the one you guys need to thank  
for making my chapters easier to read instead of having to pick your ways through hundreds  
of typos~!**

* * *

**Also a small thanks to all of you who have reviewed my story positively even if my execution of the plot  
totally sucked ass. You guys were the fuel behind my passion, so all of you take credit for my definite increase in writing  
skill (?) and update speed~!**

* * *

**The Shadow that Watches**

**Chapter 7: **New beginnings

"So, what are your thoughts on the new champion? " Irelia asked after she finished swallowing a piece of her barbequed beef. Akali gently placed a small amount of rice into her mouth with her own chopsticks, thinking about the matter as she chewed.

"Well… I dunno, she seems like a fun person, although she seems a bit…. Disturbed?" Akali said, shrugging as Irelia rolled her eyes. "I believe disturbed Is quite an understatement, Aka-chan." Irelia said as she gave Akali a small grin.

Their lunch-time conversation was interrupted by the silence that fell over the cafeteria, which made them look up in curiousity. Akali took a few moments to realize that everyone was looking at Zed again. The sudden hush was because Zed didn't have his helmet on, nor his facemask. Even more surprising, once he took his own dish, rice with barbequed beef, the same that Akali and Irelia were having, he began to walk over to their table. Zed never stayed in the cafeteria, usually opting to take his food back to his room to eat in solitude

But now, he walked over and sat down next to Akali, giving her a side glance as she stared at him. Irelia was surprised. "Wow, who are you and what have you done to Zed?" Irelia asked as Zed glanced at her before closing his eyes and extracting his chopsticks. "Do not try my patience, Irelia." Zed said as he pulled his chopsticks apart, then opened his eyes to busy himself with the food.

It was awkward. Akali felt good that Zed had chosen to sit with her but she didn't know what to do or say. "So… How are you, Zed?" Akali asked as Zed swallowed his food. He seemed to be quite educated in table etiquette, as he was skillfully using his chopsticks and his back was ramrod straight while eating.

Zed paused. He wasn't used to people asking how he was doing. "I'm… Doing fine, I believe." He said in the unfathomable and deep tone he uses to speak. "And you?" He asked, glancing at her sideways out of the corner of his eyes, his red irises gleaming as it caught the light.

"I'm doing good, thanks for asking." Akali said with a nod of approval. It had been decided last night, when the two had come to terms with their feelings, that Akali would teach Zed to have be social and also how to care about another. Although Zed felt a stinging blow to his pride at being the student after such a long time, he didn't pay it any mind since Akali was teaching him.

"Am I missing something here? When did you become friends with Mr. Stick-up-my-ass?" Irelia asked, frowning in confusion. Zed paused, his hand half raised with the chopstick gripping a small amount of rice and meat, his eyes raising to look at Irelia. Akali found the scene a bit funny, as even Zed's mouth was slightly open in preparation for the entry of the food, but she knew he was a bit annoyed by Irelia's nickname.

"Irelia, his name is Zed. Don't be mean like that." Akali said, trying to sound a bit angry but not being able to stop the small smile from appearing on her face.

"Indeed. If you don't watch you mouth, you'll find yourself with something much sharper and harder than a stick up your chest." Zed said, finally taking in the ball of food he had been holding, chewing slowly as he stared coolly at Irelia.

"Sheesh, you haven't changed a bit." Irelia said, scowling at Zed, who stared impassively back. Finally, Irelia sighed, putting her chopsticks on top of her empty bowl as she then said, "I'll see you later, Akali. I have a match pretty soon and I have to go prepare." She said as Akali nodded, watching her friend leave. Then she turned her face to Zed, who was sitting next to her, eating, and said, "Zed, do you really need to threaten my friends like that?"

"Do they really need to address me as 'Mr. Stick-up-my-ass' ? " Zed replied coolly as Akali faltered.

"I- They wouldn't call you that in the first place if you didn't seem so arrogant all the time." Akali said defensively as Zed simply uttered a soft "Hmph."

"It's not my fault I'm unable to socialize." Zed said darkly, taking a sip of water from his glass as Akali gave a small smile in his direction.

"That's why I'm here, isn't it?" Akali said. Zed didn't respond, but his gaze did soften a bit.

…

It was Saturday afternoon, and that meant that it was time for a hike to keep every champion in good shape. The cardio benefits from a run up the mountain and back down helped a lot, so it was mandatory for every champion. Even a lot of summoners participated in it. Although most champions did not think much of it, as the course gave them good exercise, some champions were less enthusiastic.

"Ugh, I hate running." Gragas muttered, managing to keep up a slow jog as most other champions passed him by. Zed tried not to sneer at the fat man, feeling the utmost contempt and disgust for him, as he ran side-by-side with Akali. He was dressed in a loose white T-shirt, as most champions were, with loose black pants. His long black hair was free, as artistically messy as ever. His face, pale white in stark contrast with his hair, was impassive. Akali had the same ensemble, her long black hair in its signature ponytail as she ran next to Zed.

While jogging, Zed took note of people around him. Some distance ahead, he could see a familiar brown haired assassin moving in sync with a woman who had long red hair. Even further forward was the yordle squad, led by Teemo. If there was ever a yordle that Zed hated the most, it was Teemo. Akali, who found Yordles cute, also found Teemo to be an (as Irelia had aptly described it one day) annoying fucking cuntwaffle.

Beside him, a blur suddenly passed, glimpsing into visibility for moments at a time before returning to its blurred camouflage of invisibility. It was sprinting at high speed and was definitely not humanoid. As Zed caught some of the features, he recognized the invisible being as Kha'zix, the Void Reaver.

Opposite to Kha'zix, on the other side of the column of runners, another distortion was moving, matching Kha'zix's speed.

"YOU SHALL NOT WIN THIS RACE, VOID BEAST!" Rengar roared from invisibility, scaring Lux who was right next to the invisible Pridestalker. Lux had embraced Ezreal, who had been jogging next to her, for protection as Ezreal tried to calm her down.

"It's funny, isn't it?" Akali said, breaking the silence between the two as Zed raised an eyebrow, glancing at her through the corner of his eyes.  
"I don't follow." Zed said as Akali glanced at him now, her maroon eyes meeting his crimson ones.

"It's just a bit amusing for me to realize that everyone around us have their own lives, filled with problems of their own and enjoyments of their own as well. Makes us seem more insignificant when you think about it." Akali said, looking at how Lux and Ezreal were slowing down, Ezreal's arm around Lux's shoulder as Lux rested her head on his chest.

"Only the weak are insignificant. You are not weak nor am I." Zed said in his usual voice, edged with arrogance. Akali's smile faltered. "Yeah… I guess." She muttered as Zed tried to fathom what he had done wrong to have saddened her.

After an hour of running, everyone had reached the high point of their hike, on a very large clearing surrounded by trees, high above the surrounding areas so it gave them a wonderful view. Mostly everyone was resting, lying or sitting on the ground as they caught their breaths, chatting with friends or drinking water.

Whenever Zed would come here, he would go to his personal sanctum. Always the one seeking solitude, he had scouted the surroundings until he found a small place where he would always go to during the 30 minute break the were given.

"Akali." Zed said as Akali's face raised to look at him, her body posture crouched down as she re-tied her shoe laces.  
"Come with me, I want to show you something." Zed said, offering her his hand. She took his offered hand, always finding a strange comfort in the way his cool skin seemed to react electrically with her warm skin. As she stood up, Zed led her away from the clearing and past the tree-line.

Weaving through the forest, they soon came upon the wall of stone which was the mountain side. From here, they could see the pointy peak of the mountain high above. But Zed didn't stop here. He began walking to the right, along the wall, until they turned a sharp corner to find an opening in the jagged stone. Akali's eyes widened in mild surprise as Zed led her into the cave. Inside was a spacious cavern, glowing eerily blue. In the middle was a crystal clear spring of water, sparkling as light from far above fell down upon it. Akali beheld the scene infront of her with surprise and awe, looking up to see the ceiling of the cavern to be very, very high. The opening in the center seemed to be at the very peak of the mountain, allowing the diffused light to come in and provide a dim glow to the cave.

"Wow… Zed, how did you know of this place?" Akali asked, still awestruck as Zed looked at the serene area with familiarity. "I found this while seeking solitude on my first hike with the rest of the institute. It became my personal sanctum for peace and meditation." Zed then turned around to look at Akali, who did the same, her eyes still wide with surprise.

"I now share it with you." Zed said, his jaw muscles seeming to work as he tried to smile. The end result was an almost unnoticeable movement, the corners of his lips curling upwards slightly, as his gaze softened on her.

"Zed… I… I don't know what to say." Akali said, still thoroughly surprised that Zed would share something so personal with her. It made her feel all warm and tingly inside as she reveled in the fact that perhaps Zed was serious about learning how to care about another person.

"What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine. Isn't that how the saying goes?" Zed asked, looking around the cave again before turning to face Akali. Before he could, he felt her weight slam into him as the breath was knocked out of him. It took him a few moments to realize that Akali had thrown her arms around him and had her head buried in his chest, embracing him.

"Oh, Zed you obliviously romantic fool…" Akali said, looking up at him with deep affection, her voice heavy with joy and relief as she moved her fingertips down his right cheek, following the scar that trailed down his face before digging her face into his chest, eyes closed. Zed was very unfamiliar with such an interaction with another person, but somehow, knowing that she could hear his heartbeat and feeling her warmth against his body… It felt perfectly normal as his arms, hesitantly at first but then with confidence, raised and crossed behind Akali's back as well, Zed lowering his head to rest ontop of hers.

"I meant what I said earlier, Akali. I never want to lose you again." Zed said, closing his eyes as he remembered the pain he had spent in solitude all these years. His arms tightened around her instinctively as he brought her closer.

…

They spent the next 20 minutes of their break within the cave, meditating. For the first time, Zed didn't focus on summoning shadows as he meditated. Instead, he had focused on the sound of Akali breathing as she meditating behind him, her back on his back. Though Zed was uncomfortable being in contact with someone; even if it was Akali, he was forcing himself to get over his discomfort. For her.

Soon after, they had returned to the clearing in time to resume the hike back down. By this time, it was dark, the sun setting very fast.

Akali had run ahead to chat up with Irelia, who was running next to Kennen. As the trio talked, Zed jogged some distance behind them, keeping his eyes on Akali. His red eyes were dimly glowing, which was more prominent as darkness fell. He felt a presence next to him as he glanced to his right to see a familiar woman. She had pale skin with very long white hair, tied up in a ponytail. Her magenta eyes focused on Akali's backside.

"You seem to be spending a lot of time with the kunoichi, Zed." Syndra said with a sneer as Zed felt a growing dislike for this woman who he had once considered bearable.

"Who I spend my time with is none of your concern, Syndra." Zed said frostily as Syndra simply smirked. "Aww, is my little Zed feeling a little lonely? Are you that desperate for some attention that you're having to resort to _her_ for company?" Syndra said in a tone that was both scathing and teasing before she leaned closer to him, both of them still keeping up a slow jog. "You know…" She whispered, "You don't need to try so hard to get a beautiful woman. I'm right here whenever you want. Perhaps I can help you get rid of the solitude that plagues you tonight in your room?" Syndra's voice was sultry and suggestive but Zed felt a wave of annoyance and anger as his eyes narrowed.

"Sovereign, you have a habit of always taking what you want by force. The difference now is that you can't have what you want. I am not a possession and definitely not yours. And if you try to take me by force… You might find your reign ending before it even begins." Zed said in a dark, sinister voice which left Syndra speechless, the woman falling behind as her running stopped, staring after Zed in shock. Zed didn't even spare her a glance as he kept running.

"Zed…" Syndra hissed, anger bubbling in her as her eyes began glowing purple. Her gaze turned from Zed's back to Akali's back, knowing who was responsible. "You will soon know what happens to those who steal what is rightfully mine…" She breathed through clenched teeth, absolutely seething with hate and jealousy at the foreign feeling of not getting what she wanted. She would have her revenge…

…

All day. The entire day, they had spent it together. It was a refreshingly new experience for Zed, to spend an entire day with the company of another person, especially the person he was beginning to care about. Now, it was quite late at night. They had eaten dinner almost an hour ago and had spent the rest of their time in Zed's room. Zed was lying in his bed, wearing a black T-shirt and a pair of loose dark grey pants, half leaning against a pillow propped up against the bedpost while Akali lied next to him, her head resting on his right shoulder as she read a book held up in front of her by her hands, wearing dark blue tank-top and purplish red, loose sleeping pants. Zed was content just to lie there and contemplate his thoughts and life with Akali's warmth next to him. It was indeed a welcome novelty than the cold hollowness of being alone. Though he found comfort in solitude, he found more comfort with this one person who truly knew him.

Finally, Akali sighed, closing her book as Zed opened his eyes and looked down at her.  
"Thanks for spending time with me, Zed." Akali said, sitting up and turning around to smile at him as Zed gave a small nod.  
"Is this what it feels to have someone beside you?" Zed asked as Akali's smile softened into a more emotional one. Sometimes, Zed asked questions like he was still a child about things he did not know, while at other times, he held the utmost, if biased, wisdom about things.

"Yes Zed. This is what it feels to be in the company of someone you care about." Akali tilted her head, letting her long hair, which was loose, to fall like a curtain of black to the side. "Why do you ask? Do you not like my company?"

"No. It's not like that. I… I find solace in your company." Zed said, looking at her with an intense gaze that took Akali's breath away a little. She had always been fascinated by Zed's eyes. They could project a stare so intense, she would feel like it was burning everything inbetween it and her soul away. Like a penetrating arrow, his eyes focused with the keen vision of a predator and it reminded her, with a chill, that even if Zed cared about her, he was still a cold-hearted killer. But so was she, wasn't she?

"Why do you hide the good in you, Zed?" Akali asked as she looked at him thoughtfully. Zed's eyebrows wrinkled a bit as mild confusion came onto his face. "Good? Do I have good in me, Akali?" He asked.

"Of course you do. I can see it." Akali said gently, raising her slender hand to his face as she stared at him, taking in all of the features that she had memorized. His high cheekbones. His pale skin. His intense red eyes. His strong jawline. His long, messy black hair. The scars that crisscrossed his face. She counted them all.

A small scar that went vertically down the right corner of his lips, an inch in length. A long scar, around 4 inches, that went diagonally from the right side of his face, over his cheek and then over the bridge of his nose where it ended. Another scar was under his left eye, travelling downwards diagonally from the center of his eye over his left cheekbone. She didn't think his scars made him uglier or ruined his looks. On the contrary, she felt proud that he had battle scars, proof of his proficiency in battle due to the fact he only received scars and not death. Akali had her own share of scars, though most of it was barely visible due to her skin tone and none of it marred her face, except for one which went horizontally over her right cheekbone, only an inch in length. Again, it was hardly noticeable unless you ran a finger over it.

Zed remained silent as Akali caressed his cheek, staring up at her with a multitude of emotions in his face. "So… Why do you hide the good in you?" Akali asked again as Zed continued to look at her before closing his eyes and turning his face away to look at something else.

"Because if I show good… People expect good." He muttered, narrowing his eyes slightly at the memories that crossed his mind. Akali knew he was beginning to remember troubling thoughts as she gently turned his face back to look at her. "Hey… I'm here. And I don't expect anything, Zed. I like you just the way you are."

"You like a killer with no remorse for the ones he has killed? A forsaken man with no redemption for the amount of blood he has on his hands?" Zed asked, pain crossing the depths of his eyes.

"Zed, you keep forgetting… I'm a killer too. I've killed my own share of people without the slightest regret. If neither of us have any forgiveness, let us be damned together." Akali said as she leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on his lips. She then stood up and began tying her hair up again. "Goodnight Zed. I'll see you tomorrow." She said, giving him a small smile as Zed sat up to watch her go.

As Akali was walking to the door of his room, Zed spoke. "I'm wrong."

Akali paused, turning around to look at Zed, whose face was now cast in shadows as he slouched forward, looking at her with that intense red gaze of his. "I'm not forsaken. I have you." He said.

Akali nodded, feeling her feelings for this man deepen as well as feeling a stab of pain trying to imagine the suffering Zed had to go through his entire life alone.

Opening the door, she left his room, closing the door softly before sighing. Her emotions slowly coming down from its electrical high, triggered by her proximity to him, she began walking towards her room down the hallway. As she was about to turn towards her door to unlock and open it, she caught a flicker of movement in the darkened common room. Turning around, her trained reflexes came into play as she ducked just in time to dodge a black sphere of energy. The force it was travelling with, the sphere should've blown through her door like a cannonball, but instead, it ceased its motion almost instantly, right before it slammed into her door.

"What the hell!?" Akali said in surprise, looking up to see the black sphere. Because of that, she wasn't able to react fast enough to dodge the second sphere that slammed into her torso, slamming her into the door behind her with a dull thud as she felt the wind being knocked out of her. Disoriented, Akali's blurred vision could only make out the shape of a person walking out of the shadows of the common room before another ball of dark energy streaked towards her head. Then, everything went dark.

…

Zed was sitting where he had been sitting when Akali had left, one of his large shurikens on his lap as he polished it with a cloth. He heard a sudden thud, as if something had slammed into an object. From the hollow sound and the lack of sonorous echoes, he determined it was a body hitting something wooden or the wall.

"Akali." He whispered, a sudden protectiveness coming over him as well as the fear of something happening to her. He instantly got up, not putting anything on as he ran out of his room. As soon as he had exited his room, he was slammed by some unseen force which completely disoriented him. His vision blurred like he was extremely drunk, the colors melding and blurring as he lost his balance and fell, unable to control his numb limbs. "What the…" He muttered, as she sat there incapacitated for a few seconds until everything finally cleared up. He stood up, groaning as he looked around the common room to see nothing out of the ordinary. Narrowing his eyes in confusion and suspicion, he got up, walking over to the door which held a plaque reading 'Akali.'

He knocked softly a few times. No response. Again, he knocked, a bit louder this time. No response. Growing increasingly worried, he focused his powers as his shadow extended from under him to reach out through the gap under the door. He summoned a shadow inside the room and closed his eyes, exhaling. He felt the rush of power in his body and when he opened his eyes, he was in her room. It was empty, her bed still made, no sign of her having even entered the room.

His eyes trailed up to the clock mounted on her wall as his eyes widened. The time displayed was 1 am. Akali had left his room after 12 am, Zed a few minutes later… Whatever he had been hit by when he was exiting his room, it must've messed up his perception of time. He had been sitting on the ground for over 1 hours. With only her in his mind, Zed ran back to his room. A moment later, he exited, securing the straps of his gauntlets as he looked around the dark common room for any sign of the culprit. He had a sneaking suspicion about who was responsible.

…

Akali groaned as consciousness slowly returned to her, opening her eyes to behold the blurred mass of dark colors around her. Slowly, her vision cleared to reveal the dark room of some champion. Everything was black, from the black walls to the black satin sheets on the bed to the black carpeting on the floor. Akali then realized that she couldn't move her hands or feet. Looking around, she saw black rings of dark energy encircling her wrists and ankles, holding her against one of the walls off the floor.

"Ugh…" The sound came from her throat as she felt the throbs of pain in her torso and on the left side of her head.

"Good. You're awake." A feminine voice said from one of the dark corners of the room. Akali looked over to see a pair of purple eyes glowing in the middle of the darkness.

"Wha…? Who are you?" Akali said, straining against her bonds. There was a small audible movement of an arm and then the sound of rushing air. Then, suddenly, a black sphere came out of the darkness infront of her and slammed into Akali's stomach. Akali exhaled sharply in pain, the air being forced out of her as she coughed violently, panting for breath afterwards.

"What… The fuck…" Akali muttered as the eyes narrowed.  
"Still not silenced? Perhaps I wasn't hard enough." The voice said as Akali recognized it vaguely.

"Syn-" She was cut off as the black sphere drew back and then slammed into Akali's stomach again, Akali crying out in pain again as she bent forward, straining against the bonds on her arms, to retch out the contents of her stomach. The fell to the floor with a sick splattering sound until Akali was left heaving dry air in pain.

"Why…" Akali muttered in between gasps of breath, wincing in pain as she tried to look up at Syndra. The black sphere slammed the side of her head like a punch, forcing her head to the side. Her head lolled, her body limp in pain and from the exhaustion of being forced to vomit as Syndra stood up.

"Why? You steal my man and then dare to ask me WHY!?" Syndra practically screamed as the black sphere hooked around to slam into the other side of Akali's face. Akali's lip got caught on her teeth from the impact, causing a spray of blood to exit her mouth as her head was turned the other side. Then it went back to its limp hanging position, Akali managing to spit out globs of saliva and blood as she tried to catch her breath, hair falling forward to cover her face from Syndra. She had to calm her breath, to steel her body for the impacts. She had been trained to receive torture, but she had never actually received it.

"You are a thieving bitch and I will make you regret ever invading upon my personal things!" Syndra hissed venomously as Akali looked up at Syndra, anger in her features as her eyes burned with fire.  
"Zed is not a possession, and he is definitely not yours." Akali hissed through clenched teeth as Syndra's eyes widened in anger, Zed's face saying the same thing in her memories flashing over Akali's face. A moment later, Syndra had come close to Akali, a knife flashing in her hands.

"I will make you wish you never said that!" Syndra seethed out as she raised the knife then stuck it down into Akali's left shoulder. Akali screamed in pain, the scream held back with her teeth clenched as she writhed, Syndra twisting and turning the knife in her flesh. Tears escaped the corner's of Akali's eyes, clenched shut through the blindingly white pain emanating from her shoulder. She could feel the knife scraping against her bone before it was wrenched out. Blood spurted out of the wound as well as Akali panted for breath, her mind completely haywire from the pain as black dots swam in her vision. Then, the pain returned as Syndra forced her fingers into the wound, groping around Akali's exposed flesh, causing Akali to truly let out a bloodcurdling scream of pain this time, absolutely convulsing against the wall to try and get away from the pain.

"YES, I HOPE IT HURTS YOU FUCKING BITCH! I HOPE IT FUCKING HURTS YOU!" Syndra said through Akali's screams of pain, her fingernails tearing through the exposed flesh in Akali's knife wound, tearing it open while causing more blood to spurt out, covering Syndra's entire right hand in crimson streaks and droplets. Syndra extracted her hand as Akali's screams finally subsided, only to be replaced with pained sobs as Akali tried to recover from the immense pain. She couldn't stop as the moans of pain forced their way through her mouth, tears continuously pouring out of her eyes as she tried to think of anything, anything but the pain.

_Zed… Zed… Zed…_

Like a chant, Akali thought of Zed and Zed only. He was her solace in times of darkness and even now, it calmed her down a bit. Memories of today, the time she had spent with Zed, forced their ways into her mind, distracting her from her pain. But it was a short lived bliss as she felt Syndra's knife slicing a thin cut across her stomach line. Akali howled in pain again, her thrashes causing the cut Syndra was drawing to be deeper and shallower in places, resulting in a jagged cut that bled a slow curtain of blood down Akali's abdomen, completely coating the lower part of her T-shirt in blood.

"No no no, I'm not going to let you go to your happy place. By the time I'm done, I want to face the institute's judgement with no regrets!" Syndra said as she placed the knife in the middle of Akali's chest. Again, she began drawing a thin cut, this time vertically down to cross the horizontal one at her stomach, Akali screaming hoarse cries of pain again as Syndra did so.

"Even if I can't kill you, I will scar your beauty! Make you so ugly, no man will ever love you!" Syndra said, finishing the cut as she beheld the cut on Akali's body. It looked like the mathematical sign for addition, a plus, with grotesque similarity. Akali felt weak, drained from the blood loss as everything seemed slower to her. She then felt the cold steel's on her face as Syndra wiped the blood off the blade on both of her cheeks. "Now, let's draw a permanent smile on your face, shall we?" Syndra said, eyes glowing maliciously as she edged the knife closer to Akali's lips.

The door suddenly exploded, bursting into splinters of black wood as two figures entered.  
"Aloreus Frastico!" A young voice shouted as Syndra was suddenly forced backwards like she was shot out of a cannon, slamming into the wall opposite and being held there. She looked up to see a young blonde Summoner holding his hand up towards Syndra, holding her against the wall while Zed looked at Akali in shock.

He recovered quickly as his head whipped around to glare at Syndra. "SYNDRA!" Zed roared in anger as Summoner Jason looked at him in panic, "No, ZED, DON'T!"

But Zed had already leapt forward, arm blades shooting out of his gauntlets as all he saw was red, hell-bent on killing the woman who had dared to hurt Akali. However, as his arms shot forward, his armblades suddenly retracted back into his gauntlet without his doing. But his arm still shot forward, slamming into Syndra's chest as Syndra's ribs cracked audibly, the woman crying out in pain. She fainted right afterwards as Zed was suddenly pulled backwards by his gauntlets, snarling and growling as he tried to reach Syndra. He looked back to see another figure next to Jason, Irelia, who had a determined look on her face as she held her arm out towards him, controlling his armblades to pull him back.

"IRELIA! LET ME GO, IRELIA, OR I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU TOO!" Zed shouted in anger.  
"ZED, CALM YOURSELF! AKALI NEEDS YOU OR SHE WILL DIE!" Irelia screamed with anger of her own as Zed stopped his struggles, a painful realization dawning on him as he looked behind him to see Akali lying on the ground, a bleeding pile.

"A-Akali." Zed muttered helplessly as he turned around, falling to his knees next to Akali and pulling her bloodsoaked body up, cradling it. "Akali… Look at me. Akali!" Zed shouted as he then looked up at Jason, anger and pain evident on his face. "JASON, HELP HER DAMMIT OR I SWEAR I WILL DECAPITATE YOU WHERE YOU STAND!"

"Irelia, restrain Syndra incase she wakes up." Jason said urgently as he crouched infront of Zed, who was holding Akali to his chest. Jason raised his hands as he began to emit white light from his hands. It was a painful process as time passed, Zed spending a majority of the time muttering sweet nothings to Akali, telling her to stay with him.

"Akali… Open your eyes, Akali… I'm here. Don't leave me… Not again, you promised me you wouldn't leave me again! YOU PROMISED ME, DON'T YOU DARE GO BACK ON YOUR WORD! Akali…" Zed was panicking, his hands visibly shaking as he brushed aside hair from in front of Akali's face, pressing his forehead to hers as he closed his eyes and waited.

Finally, Jason stumbled back, falling on his butt as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. Restraining such a powerful mage like Syndra and then doing magic that he wasn't proficient in was very straining. "I've managed to stop her bleeding. She's bled a lot though so we need to take her to the emergency wing for immediate medical care."

"I'll take her." Zed said, readjusting her hold on Akali as his left hand went under Akali's knee's, his right hand going under her back, fingers gripping her ribs under her right arm. He stood up, briskly walking out of the room, moving as fast as he could while keeping his balance so he didn't hurt Akali by falling.

Jason stayed silent, his blue eyes now weary as he looked up to see Irelia having tied up Syndra with the black sheets from her bed. Irelia looked pissed. "I'm surprised you're not murderous with rage as well." Jason said as Irelia turned her glare to him. "Oh, I'm murderous alright. I just don't have my blades. Teemo's fucking mushrooms stained it and I had to send it for sanitizing."

"Well, god bless that yordle then."

"Fuck no, I hope he rots in the deepest reaches of the void."

"Don't we all?"

…

It had been almost as painful for Zed to see Akali almost dying as it had been to know that Shen was the one in charge of her medical care. After hours of waiting, Shen finally walked out, wearing his doctor coat over his sleeping wear. It was morning outside and both Zed and Shen had dark circles under their eyes from the exhaustion of the night.

"I've closed and dressed all of her wounds. I've had Vladimir help me with the blood transfusion, so she'll be fine. She just needs rest and has to adjust to almost having her body drained." Shen said as he looked impassively at Zed. For a few moments, nothing was said between the two.

"I believe… I should say... Thank you. For coming to her aid when no other medical help was immediately present." Zed said in a low voice, holding grudging gratitude for the man infront of him.

"I didn't do it for you." Shen said, his eyes narrowing for a split second. "I don't want her to get hurt like this again Zed. If she gets hurt or if she dies, I'll be holding you responsible."

"If she dies, I will find you myself and give you the blade to end my life." Zed said resolutely as he matched Shen's gaze. Again, a very long moment of silence passed as the two simply stood there and stared at each other. Finally, Shen broke the silence.

"Keep her safe, Zed. And keep her happy." Shen muttered. Zed blinked before slowly nodding, "Everything I do will be to keep her safe and happy." Zed replied as Shen nodded, turning around and walking off. Zed waited a few moments, watching Shen walk away before entering the room.

Akali was lying in the bed in a white patient's gown. She had visible bandages covering her torso up to her neck. She seemed so peaceful and tranquil, eyes closed as she rested, the dim light of dawn bathing her in a light glow as Zed walked over, pulling up a chair upto the side of her bed. He sat down, noting how he stayed in the shadowy part while Akali's body was bathed in light.

"This is how it'll always be, Akali. I am nothing but a shadow… And you are the light that allows me to exist." Zed said, gently curling his pale fingers into Akali's slender fingers, gripping her hand reassuringly as he waited. "By your side… Always and forever." He murmured. For a second, he thought he felt her hand move in his hands, like she also squeezed his fingers back to know she was listening. Even if it was almost imperceptible, Zed felt the movement. For the first time in a long time, a small smile came naturally onto his face…

* * *

**Yup, I'm ready for all the hate because of Syndra. *does a 'comeatmebro' posture*  
****What, no one's hating me? Tha- *gets hit by a black sphere***

**Syndra: I WILL KILL YOU FOR DEPICTING ME IN SUCH A WAY!  
Me: OH GOD NOW, STAHP. HALP, ANYBODY, HAAAALP. SECURITY!  
Syndra : RAAAAAAAAAAARGH!  
-Bzzzzzzt-**

**...**

**..**

**[We're undergoing technical difficulties concerning a murderous woman with untapped power on a rampage. Please stay tuned for the next chapter and leave a review with your thoughts and comments on the chapter. On behalf of Wings, who is currently having the living shit beat out of him, we thank you for your continued support]**


	8. Chapter 8

**Yeah, I'm back with another update! I was planning on doing a double update, but this one came back from my alpha faster than the other because of time differences~ Enjoy!**

* * *

**The Shadow that Watches**

**Chapter 8: **What has been. And can be.

"Hey Akali, do you have a moment?"  
"Hmm?" Akali raised her eyebrows, looking behind her to see Zed standing at the doorway to the dojo. Akali nodded, wiping the sweat off her forehead as she walked over to Zed. Her white dojo-uniform was blissfully made of cotton, allowing the wind to cool her heated skin after she had been training for so long.

Zed was wearing his normal battle armor, consisting of a black top that hugged his skin, the neck of which could be pulled up to be used as a face mask. Over that, he wore a breastplate and shoulder guards made of light but strong metal. Red cloth decorated various parts of his armor. His pale face beamed at her, his red eyes dimly glowing as always. Through the years Akali had spent knowing him, his eyes had lost that sorrow they had held. They were still quite scary, but they always seemed to soften and brighten when Zed was addressing Akali. His short black hair stood up in every direction, unruly as always as he hid something behind his back.

"What's up, Zed-sensei?" Akali asked as Zed smirked.  
"Akali, don't call me that unless we're in training." Zed said, bringing out a white flower from behind. It was a beautiful thing, seeming very fragile and beautiful. It's scent was mystifying as Akali gaped at it with awe. "It's for you." Zed said as Akali gently took it, cupping her hands around it as she watched It with wonder in her young eyes.

"Wow, thanks you so much Zed!" Akali said, looking up happily at the older teen standing infront of her. He gave her a soft smile, patting her head affectionately as he said, "That flower blooms once every 7 years. It only blooms for a day, however, so cherish it while you can." Zed said, as Akali's happiness faltered slightly.

"Why does it die after one day?" She asked, confused. "Because it teaches us that no matter how beautiful or painful a thing might be, like everything, it has an end." Zed said wisely as Akali frowned at it.  
"… I don't want an end." Akali said, sniffing the beautiful scent of the flower again. "I think beautiful things should be meant to last forever as long as something nurtures it."

"If only things were like that, Akali." Zed said sadly, ruffling Akali's hair again before looking to his side. A shadow ninja was waiting for Zed to be done with his conversation as Zed's expression became indifferent again. "Now go off and keep that flower safe, Akali."

"Zed, I have one last question!" Akali said just as Zed had begun to walk away. Zed paused, looking back at her with an eyebrow raised. "What's the name of this flower?" She asked as Zed smirked at her.  
"It's called a Jundo Hanabira." Zed answered as Akali nodded. Zed left to consult with the shadow warrior as Akali walked back into the dojo. She decided she would bring it back to her room at night, after her mother got back.

...

Akali walked back towards her room quickly, the Jundo Hanabira cupped in her hands. She couldn't wait to show it to her mother as she rounded the final corner and stopped infront of the screen door to her and her mother's rooms. She slid it open happily.

"Mother! Look what Zed…. Has…." Akali trailed off, the happiness dying from her face to be replaced with absolute shock. Her mother lay on the ground, right hand placed over the bloodstained kimono over her stomach, eyes staring blankly up as she lay limp in a pool of her own blood.

"Mo…Mo… M-m-mother?" Akali stuttered, her knees buckling as she fell to her knees, shaky hands slowly reaching up to cover her open mouth in horror.  
"MOTHER!" She screamed in anguish as she heard the whisper of wind. She couldn't think, her entire world had come crashing down upon her as she was embraced tightly by the person who had suddenly appeared next to her. Zed held her into his chest, letting her cry as he stared at Akali's mother's corpse in sorrow, shock and anger. He had never heard Akali scream like this, so he had come as fast as he could. Now he knew what had made her scream. The person who had done this would pay for their crime.

"Akali… Shhhh… It'll be okay, I'll avenge your mother." Zed whispered, trying to sooth Akali. Akali, once she realized who was comforting her, screamed in anger, shoving Zed hard. Zed was caught off guard, slamming into and tearing through the screen door as Akali looked at him with loathing.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU KILLED MY MOTHER!" She screamed as Zed mutely stared at her. "No, Akali, It wasn't me! But I swear, I'll avenge your mother and kill the person who did this!"

"DON'T LIE TO ME! You never liked my mother!"

"What are you tal-"

"You always didn't agree with her ideals of peace and balance! You always thought she coddled me too much, smothered my progress with her motherly love!"

"I NEV-"

"Don't… Zed, just don't. Maybe you killed her with your own bloody hands or you had your subordinates kill her for you. But the fact is that you failed in your task."

"Akali, I-"

"Did you or did you not promise to keep us safe, Zed?" Akali said, her voice choked with her crying but still firm and strong as she stared at Zed with anger. Zed seemed at a loss for words as he narrowed his eyes in pain and lowered his face.

"Yes, I did."

"Is this your protection? My mother lies dead in her room and IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"Akali, I promise you, I will kill the man who did this to your mother."

"Yeah, that's all you can do, isn't it Zed?" Akali said scathingly, standing up as she wiped her eyes angrily. "Kill anything that's a problem. You're a monster, Zed, and you'll never change. A cold-blooded killer who kills anything that poses as a threat."

"Akal-"

"You were right Zed." Akali said in a voice heavy with grief and anger. "All things have an end. And every end is bloody and painful." She said, crushing the flower she didn't know she still held in her hands before throwing the remains at Zed. She walked away, leaving Zed to stare longingly after her.

The next morning, Akali had shown up in the assembly of all the shadow ninjas, standing in the middle of the path right infront of the small platform upon which Zed stood.

"I'm leaving, Zed."

"….What?" Zed said, incomprehensibly shocked as he gaped at her.

"I'm done. You'll only bring me pain and death. I-I can't stay here where my mother was brutally killed." Akali said as Zed continued to gape at her.

"Akali, it'll be okay, I killed the man who killed your mother."

"I've heard everything, Zed. You ordered my mother to kill someone, knowing that my mother was an honorable woman who did not kill innocents. She refused and your little soldier killed her for treason."

"I never gave her that order, the target was a member of th-"

"You've never stopped to think why everyone's been leaving you, have you Zed? It's because you're always so focused on killing people. You don't have a heart. You have a blade." Akali said, turning around as she began to walk away.

"Akali, no, stop!" Zed said, stepping off the platform but unable to follow as Akali briskly walked away. "PLEASE, DON'T GO AKALI!" He shouted, falling to his knees as Akali stopped. She turned her face to the side, to look at him over her shoulders. The young Zed looked close to tears, clutching the ground in dismay as he stared pleadingly at her. "Please, Akali, I beg you. Don't leave me. Not you."

"Goodbye Zed." Akali said, knowing she was cutting another part of her heart away as she looked forward again and began walking off, leaving Zed kneeling on the ground infront of all his army. She never looked back.

…

"…Mmmm…" Akali gave a small moan as she shifted in the bed, aware of Zed's body pressing up against her back. His arm was placed over her waist, holding her close as they slept on their sides in the bed. Akali was always happy to find that she fit right into Zed in this position. She sleepily opened her eyes, looking over her shoulder to see Zed also stirring. The morning sun shone down upon them through the window as Zed's red eyes opened to find her smiling at him.

"Good morning, Zed." Akali said as Zed gave her a soft look. Zed leaned in to give Akali a soft and quick kiss, Akali meeting his lips halfway as she also leaned forwards. "Slept well?" Zed asked as he let go of her, allowing Akali to sit up.

"I guess. Just had a dream about the past, that's all." Akali said, stretching. She was wearing a white tank top and a pair of shorts, Zed wearing only black boxers as he lounged on the bed, sheets pulled up to his waist.

"The past…" Zed muttered, pain flickering across his eyes as Akali pulled her hair up into a ponytail, binding it with a hairband off the end-table. "Hey now, don't go brooding about the past again." Akali said, leaning in close to Zed as she used her hands to make him look at her in the eyes. "I'm here now, so focus on the present."

Zed nodded as Akali smiled. "Aaaand It's your turn today to wake them up!"

Zed rolled his eyes as Akali chuckled, walking over to her wardrobe to pull out a dark blue sleeping robe, pulling it one and tying it in place as Zed stood up, yawning and stretching.  
"You know, you look beautiful as always." Zed said as he looked at Akali with the same intense gaze he alone seemed to possess. Akali giggled again, rolling her eyes. "Years ago, I would never have thought of you to be such a romantic, Zed."

"Much time has passed with you teaching me how to love, Akali." Zed said as Akali walked out of the room. She was in the kitchen, preparing some breakfast for her family when Zed walked in. "That was fast." Akali said as Zed shrugged.  
"Did you threaten them with your blades again?" Akali asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at Zed. Zed shook his head as he confidently said, "You underestimate me, Akali."

Just then, a young boy and a younger girl suddenly ran into the kitchen from the hallway. "Moooom, Dad threatened us with his blades again and now Saori's scared again!" The boy said as the girl, Saori, clutched him protectively. Zed stared at the boy as he stuck his tongue out at Zed, turning his head around to look at Akali's disapproving face.

_Thunk._

"Did you really need to hit me with that spoon?" Zed mumbled, biting down on the buttered toast he held in his hand as Akali took a spoonful of milk and cereal and put it into Saori's awaiting mouth. Though Saori was quite old enough to eat on her own, she loved to be fed by Akali, as she always stated that a mother's hand made the food taste ten times better. "It's called a ladle, dear." Akali said as Zed muttered a low, "Whatever…"

"Ryuu, please finish your eggs, you know the yolk is the most healthy part." Akali said, still not taking her eyes off her work as she spoon-fed her young daughter, Ryuu scowling and crossing his arms as he stared down at the yellow circle with a pout.  
"But it's all icky and gooey!" Ryuu said as Zed looked up at him. Zed mouthed the words '_Blades' _as Ryuu paled and began eating the yolk right away.

_Thunk._

"It's really getting annoying, dear." Zed said as Akali placed the ladle down, putting Saori's empty bowl into the sink with the rest of the dirty dishes. "I'll stop when you stop threatening our children, Zed." Akali said huffily as Zed sighed in defeat.

About an hour later, Akali was sitting on the edge of the porch leading to her backyard, bare feet enjoying the feel of the grass as she read a book, also keeping watch on her kids who were playing in the back yard with toy swords. Ryuu had his father's looks, with black hair, pale face and already a bit tall for his age. Saori, a year younger than the 7 year old Ryuu, also had black hair but her face held traces of Akali's softer beauty and strength. Both of them had Akali's dark red eyes instead of Zed's glowing bright red eyes, one thing Zed was glad about.

"_Good… Neither of them have the eyes of a killer." _He had said. Akali felt his presence approaching as she looked to her left to see Zed walking down the hallway. He was dressed in full battle regalia, holding his helmet in his hands as Akali stood up onto the porch.

"Do you have to go?" She asked as Zed stared down at her affectionately. He used his free hand to brush some strands of hair away from Akali's face.

"I have to go, Akali. I cannot leave my army unattended. They need someone to lead them." Zed said as Akali leaned her face into his hand, caressing his palm with her cheek.

"I'm just… Afraid, Zed. Everytime you walk into the battlefield against those hideous void creatures, I'm afraid I might never see you again. I want to fight by your side again." Akali said as Zed leaned down to kiss Akali's forehead.

"Akali, Ryuu and Saori need you to protect them. They need a caring mother to look after them, not a father who knows only how to kill. And I'm fighting against these void abominations to keep you and all of Ionia safe. I will not allow your home to fall like Demacia and Noxus did." Zed said.

"I love you, Zed. Never forget that. And this is not my home… This is our home, Zed. Your home is with me. With us." Akali said as Zed nodded solemnly.

"By your side. Always and forever." Zed said as Akali leaned up to kiss him softly on the lips. This moment seemed to last perhaps an eternity, but it lasted only a few seconds as Zed drew away. He pulled his facemask up as Akali held his helmet for him.

"I need to get moving, Shen and Irelia are waiting for me. To think these abominations were once people we called summoners…" Zed muttered bitterly as Akali handed him his helmet.

"Power corrupts the mind, Zed. You know that. Our summoners wanted more power and were drawn into the void. There's nothing we could do about that." Akali said as a sad smile came upon Zed's covered face.

"I was once lost in the corruption of power. You pulled me out and saved me." Zed said as a small blush came onto Akali's face. She punched his chest softly as she said, "Oh, get going, you."

As Zed began to walk away, Akali stared after her. Zed suddenly stopped walking as Akali looked at him curiously.  
"Oh, and Akali?" Zed said as Akali furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

…

"Please wake up."

…

Akali's eyes opened as she found herself staring up at a white ceiling. There was a repetitive beeping noise beside her as she turned her head weakly to the side to see a variety of medical machines, probably top-grade technology from Piltover. There was a heartbeat monitor and even an IV was plugged into her arm, nutrients being inserted directly into her bloodstream.

She felt sore, remembering what had happened. She then realized that she was lying on a hospital bed.

_So it was all a dream then…_ She thought sadly as she simply lied there for a few seconds, trying to digest the sorrow that the dream brought after its joy. She then registered the pressure in her right hand. Turning her head to her right, she looked down to see Zed. He was sitting on a chair right next to the bed, leaning forward. He held Akali's hands with his own, firmly holding them and giving her support while his head lied on the edge of the bed, eyes closed. He seemed to be sleeping.

Akali then realized that Zed looked worse for wear. He looked gaunter than usual, dark circles under his eyes. Black stubble had appeared on his jawline, indicating that he hadn't shaved for quite some time.

"Zed?" Akali breathed, her voice barely a whisper. Her throat hurt from speaking, probably from having screamed so much during her ordeal. But it was enough as Zed's eyes opened, the bright red eyes glowing. It instilled a pang of fear in Akali at how the eyes would never change their predatory aspect. But they softened a great deal as they rested on Akali.  
"Akali. You're awake." He whispered, raising his head to look up at her.  
"You look like hell." Akali whispered with a small smile as Zed stared down at her in disbelief. He then leaned forward, throwing his arms around Akali and raising her up a bit as he embraced her.

"Ow, Zed, I'm still sore."  
"I thought I lost you… I really thought I did." Zed murmured against her ear, resting his head on her shoulder, his cheek against hers as he reassured himself with her warmth. Akali raised her free right hand to embrace Zed as well as she said, "I promised you, Zed. I wouldn't leave you again."

The ghost of a smile appeared on Zed's face as he drew away to gaze deeply into Akali's eyes. But then, there was a commotion outside.

"_What the fuck do you mean he hasn't eaten for day!? Does he think starving himself to death is a good idea for her!?"_

"_Miss Irelia, please, keep your voice down! He refused any food we offered him!"_

"_You should've fucking spoonfed him! I can't rely on any of you, can I?"_

"_Miss Irelia, don't d-"_

The door slammed open as Irelia entered, seething with anger.

"Zed, what the fuck is up with you starving you-" Irelia froze as she saw Zed and Akali both staring at her. Akali gave a weak wave at Irelia with a feeble smile as Irelia blinked a few times. Then Irelia lunged forward, hugging Akali hard.

"AKALI, YOU'RE AWAKE!"

"AH GOD, MY RIBS, IRELIA GET OFF."

"Sorry." Irelia said apologetically though she had a bright smile on her face. "Shen's a genius. He figured out all the stuff about directing your body's Ki flow so you'd awake sooner. Summoner Jason carried the little trick out. Without that, you would've stayed in your shock induced coma for months."

"Shen… Saved me?" Akali asked, tilting her head.  
"Yes… He worked day and night to figure out how to cure a coma with the body's own Ki flow while I sat here without use." Zed said bitterly, holding grudging respect for the man. Akali gave a small smile as she gripped Zed's hands tightly. "You weren't useless, Zed. You gave me support." She said as Irelia glanced between them.

"Am I missing something here?"

"AKALIIIII~" A high pitched voice screamed as a small ball of fur suddenly ran into the room and jumped high, arcing over the room before landing on top of Akali in a great hug.

"I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH, AKALI!"

"AGH IT HURTS, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE."

Kennen was sniffling, his eyes big and shiny with tears as he put his tiny hands onto Akali's cheeks. "I-I-I was so worried, Akali. I thought I-I'd n-never see you!"  
"You underestimate me, Kennen." Akali said in a low voice as she embraced her yordle friend, gentler this time. Mentally, she tried to poke the state of her ribs after its hug-abuse. Her ribs told her to fuck off.

"You're awake." A voice came from the doorway as Kennen jumped off Akali, everyone turning their heads to see Shen standing at the door. Shen looked as bad as Zed, the lines on his face much more defined, eyes sunken and dark from sleep deprivation. Even he had brown stubble covering the lower part of his face like a 5 o' clock shadow. Before Shen could say more, Irelia jumped him, embracing him hard and then suddenly smacking her lips against his. Kennen gaped as Akali's eyebrows went as high as they could, Zed's eyebrows also going up in mild surprise.

Irelia finally pulled out of the kiss, both of them staring at each other, panting from the action as Irelia finally said, "Thanks… For saving Akali."

"I… Uh…" Shen stuttered.

"Hey, do I get a kiss too?" Another voice said as Zed sighed. "It's like a damn welcoming party." He muttered as Akali patted his hand comfortingly. Zed didn't like crowds.

The other voice belonged to Summoner Jason, who looked as blonde and smug as ever.

"Don't get your hopes up." Irelia said as Jason chuckled, crossing his arms and leaning against the door, looking into the room. "How're you feeling, sunshine?" he asked.

"My ribs hurt from all the hugs, but I'll live." Akali whispered as Shen turned a stern gaze at Irelia and Kennen, both of who shrunk away guiltily.

"Good to hear. Well, It seems today's the perfect day for what I'm about to say." Summoner Jason said as he brought out a rolled up notice from inside his sleeve. Everyone watched him intently as he read out the notice, "Syndra has been found guilty by the tribunal for kidnapping and torturing another champion and has been put in the Eternum wards for the next month."

"Eternum wards?" Akali asked as Jason smirked. "It's one of the strongest holding cells in the institute. The room is infused with magic from the summoners and from Nocturne, who's also caged down there, so it exists on another dimension parallel to ours. Basically, Syndra is floating around in a sea of darkness inside a runic straitjacket until she gets her shit together."

"And Nocturne is just happy to agree to letting you guys use his power?" Irelia asked skeptically as she raised an eyebrow.

"A neighbor after so much solitude, especially one who's fear and negative vibes you can feed off? I don't see why he wouldn't agree." Jason said with a grin as Irelia looked at him like he was some sort of sicko.  
"Anyway, we have to get going." Irelia said knowingly as she glanced at Zed and Akali again. She grabbed Kennen and swung him up onto Shen, who caught the yordle out of pure reflex.  
"Dada!" Kennen said in a baby-ish voice as Shen looked down at him. "Drop him and I'll skin you, dearest." Irelia said as she walked by, indicating with her hand for Shen to follow her out of the room as Shen grimaced, carrying Kennen out of the room like a baby. Kennen grinned and winked at Akali as he left, leaving Zed and Akali in the room with Summoner Jason.

"Also, Zed." Jason said as Zed blinked at the summoner to indicate he was listening. "I've managed to procure what you asked me to find. I've also infused some mana into it which kind of works like revival magic, ensuring that it will never wilt or die."

Jason walked over and gave Zed a small white box as he winked. "Also, get something to eat Zed, you look like shit."

"Summoner Jason, we're having a moment, please don't ruin it."  
"Aww, I love you too, Zed."  
"Aaaand you've ruined it. Get out."

Summoner Jason only chuckled as he left, closing the door softly behind as Akali watched him leave. "You seem to be getting along well with him."

"He saved your life, so it wouldn't be right for me to kill him too soon." Zed said thoughtfully as Akali sighed with a smile. Some things would never change. "So, what's the box about?"

Zed looked thoughtfully down at it before looking at her. "It's for you." He gave her the box as Akali raised her eyebrows in curiousity. She pulled the lace which criss-crossed over the box, untying it and then opening the box. The thing inside took her breath away.

It was a beautiful white flower, looking as fragile as it looked strong. It's scent was overpoweringly sweet yet gentle with a feathery touch. It also looked slightly sparkly, like millions of tiny crystals had covered it's surface.

"Jundo Hanabira…" Akali muttered as Zed nodded. The last time he had given her this flower was 7 years ago, back when he was 17 years old and she was 14. That was also when she had left him to join the Kinkou, after her mother died. Bittersweet memories flashed across his memories as he began to fall into brooding. Akali sensed this by the way his eyes had clouded over and, like she had done in her dream, she reached over, placing both of her hands on both sides of Zed's face and making him look at her.

"Hey. I'm here, now. Focus on me, on the present." She said soothingly as Zed's eyes cleared, nodding mutely. "Remember what this flower teaches? It teaches us to let go. Let go of your past, Zed."

"Let… go…?" Zed breathed. Their faces had come closer without either one of the realizing as Akali realized the beeping of the heartbeat monitor had gone up.  
"Yes, Zed. Let go of everything but us… Because like this flower in my hands, we are here."

"Always and forever." Zed finished for her as they finally closed the gap, their lips meeting in blissful harmony. Akali tasted sweet, like vanilla and something mysteriously unique. Akali found Zed to taste spicy, a multitude of tastes impossible to differentiate just like his personality. Their kiss deepened as Akali absently placed the box containing the flower on the endtable beside her bed, lying down on the bed as Zed stood up, placing one knee on the bed. His kiss left her mouth as he began to trail it down her jawline then along her neck, Akali making adorable noises of desire all the while.

"Hnnng… Zed…" She breathed as Zed nibbled on her throat, making her breathing rate speed up considerably. The heartbeat monitor was beeping quite rapidly as well as Zed kissed her along her collarbone, pulling the collar of her hospital gown down a bit to reveal the gentle curving of her collarbone. Akali gasped at the sensitive area where Zed was kissing, arching her back. That, however, caused her pain as she instantly tensed, wincing as Zed stopped, looking up at her. Both of them were breathy, as Akali looked apologetically at Zed.

"I'm sorry. I got carried away." Zed said in a low voice as he stood up, Akali fixing her disheveled hospital gown as she watched Zed with wistful longing. "You need rest." Zed said as he seemed to do something in with his hands. Then, after he was done, he showed it to Akali. It was the red lace from the box he had given her, tied around his gauntlet on his right arm.

"What's that?" Akali said with a smile as Zed looked at her, a slight trace of a smile appearing on his face.

"A reminder."

"Of what?"

"Everything."

* * *

**I regret to announce that the story is nearing it's end, which will be Chapter 9 or 10. Fear not, there will be more romance and drama and a Lemon. ;) Stay tuned!**


End file.
